The King looked down at the severed head in shock. It had a massive hole between the eyes, the armor plate split with cracks that crawled across the surface like thunderbolts.
“You should be dead,” he said, staring murderously into Hrake’s eyes.
“Yes, I should,” replied the warrior. He bore hideous wounds on his left shoulder, and his knees shook as he stood. “The Progenitor gave me strength to slay my foe. I am cleared of any guilt, as are Elder Shaman Rehkna and Crown Prince Hrynkak. Now fulfill your promise. In the presence of the Elders, grant your crown to your son.”
The king's eyes snapped over to Gevrok, who still stood over Rehkna. He hefted his hammer, but his eyes went wide as thousands of cold hands grabbed him, seizing him in place. He strained, forcing his eyes to look down his beak into Rehkna’s. She was staring through him, into his mind, holding him still with her powers. Unable to keep his balance, he toppled backwards. The guards all looked at one another, trying to gauge the others’ intentions.
A mad rush ensued as guards rushed to the prisoners, some hoping to kill them, others trying to protect them. The guard behind the prince cut his bonds and handed him his hammer. Vanbrook jumped in, deflecting hammer blows with his saber to protect the prince.
“I’m not interfering with politics,” he reasoned aloud, “I’m preventing a violent coup.”
The king pulled his knife and tried to stab Hrake in the throat. Even in his weakened state the warrior managed to grab the King’s wrist and throw it aside, a look of contempt on his face. Seeing Gevrok trying to stand up, Hrake hefted his hammer to crush the coward’s skull.
“Enough!” shouted a voice. The battle stopped. Two guards lay dead in the sand. Others had their weapons crossed in combat. Hrake lowered his hammer gently, letting it fall into the sand by Gevrok’s head.
“Enough,” said Hrynkak, repeating himself. “Enough of our blood has been spilled.
“Father,” he said imploringly, “look what your madness has wrought! The gods have answered your charges against your kith and kin, and found them innocent. Step down. Let the burden of kingship fall to me. You will live out your days in peace.”
The King looked around bitterly.
“You have the throne,” he said, spitting on the ground, “but not my loyalty. I will go to my palace to the south. Leave me be.”
“So be it,” said Hrynkak, King of Gred.
The former king climbed into his chariot and wheeled it around, followed by Gevrok and a small fraction of the guards. None of the elders followed.
“Come,” said Hrynkak, “there is much work to be done.”
***
Jasken's eyebrow remained raised as the day's events were related to him.
"Now we're on our way back to Gred, where Hrynkak plans to cement his rule," concluded Raivyn.
"You've been busy, I see," said the Admiral, smoothing his mustache. "Vanbrook in particular. IGC Enforcement isn't going to like that there was a regime change less than seventy-two hours after you landed."
Raivyn shrugged. "We were a catalyst, at best. Change was coming."
"Yes, but if the inspectors think we put our thumb on the scale it will spell trouble for the expedition. We've requested the Hrudukite intake proceedings be kept out of the public eye due to the nature of our expedition, which should give us at least some short term cover. The IGC is only as powerful as its member nations allow it to be and the Republic is one of the most influential, so they'd be wise to cut us a little slack.
"As far as your other request goes, I'll send it up the chain but I warn you now I'm going to recommend against allowing it.”
"You're referring to letting Hrake join the expedition?" Raivyn asked.
"Yes," replied Jasken. "The Republic would be happy to host any reasonable number of representatives from the Hrudukite nations, but having an unknown warrior join with our clandestine expedition seems ill-advised. Ultimately that will be up to the Prime Minister."
"I agree in large part, sir," said Raivyn. "But the psychic, Rehkna - she gave him the quest - and it felt… it felt like a prophecy, y'know?"
Jasken shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I don't know."
Raivyn gathered her courage, knowing her thoughts were out of character. "I think the Progenitor is at work here."
Jasken huffed. It was an involuntary reaction, and he regretted it immediately. He believed in the Progenitor, of course, but he was wary of supernatural interpretations of events.
"Well," he said carefully, "it doesn't seem prudent. But, again, the decision isn't up to me. I will pass on your comments."
"Fair enough, Admiral," she said. "I wanted to ask you something else, as well."
"Go ahead."
"I was curious how soon we plan to leave Hruduk?"
Jasken frowned in thought. "Depends entirely when we find a suitable planet to jump to. We have a few candidates, but nothing concrete. The shields are fully charged, so we're prepared on that front. The Wingspan will need to touch down to take on water, but that won’t take long. What are you thinking?"
"Not sure, Admiral," she answered thoughtfully, "but the mountains to the east of our landing site appear to be highly radioactive. It's likely to be very rich in uranium or other fissile materials. It could be an extremely valuable resource for both us and the Hrudukites, but there's a taboo on the area. I want to explore it but I'll need to use a light touch."
"Very good, look into while you wait for further orders. Providence shine on you."
"You too, Admiral."
***
The next day, Hrynkak called a special assembly in the city's amphitheater. Over one hundred thousand Gredites filled the seats, and Talon Squad sat on the stage along with Rehkna, Hrake, and the Elders. King Hrynkak, Queen Grehi, and their children stood front and center, looking over the gathered crowd with pride. A tarp covered a large object, roughly three or four feet in any given direction, before them.
When the flow of citizens into the amphitheater died down to a slow trickle, Hrynkak stood and addressed the crowd.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Gredites! It is true: my father has abdicated the throne to me, in fulfillment of the agreement struck concerning Warrior Hrake's trial by ordeal."
Mumors broke out among the crowd, and Hrake thought they sounded like a mix of appreciation and frustration.
"Here is proof of his victory," said the King.
He tore the tarp off the mysterious object, and the crowd erupted into gasps as they saw the crushed and severed head of the Roach Lord. Slowly the gasps gave way to cheers.
"My cousin has brought a new age to the City of Gred. My father made many errors, and grew mad in his old age, but Hrake saw a better future in me. I will not let him down, nor will I let you down, my people."
More cheers erupted.
"Cousin, come, tell your story, and that of the travelers."
Hrake's shoulder and foot were wrapped in bandages, but he was recovering nicely under the medical care of Doc Manford and Rehkna. Doc had been hesitant to let the primitive physician help at first, but his natural curiosity about the medicinal properties of the local flora and Rehkna's patient way softened him eventually. Wincing as his bandages rubbed his raw skin, he walked up beside his cousin.
"It is true," Hrake said, looking down at the stage. Speaking to the elders was one thing, but speaking to over one hundred thousand others made him feel like he was back at the Mountains of Wasting. "It was my hammer that killed the Roach Lord. However, I did not slay the guardian of the underworld with my own strength, or by the strength of Skyfire, but by the strength of the one who created all." As he spoke, clouds rolled in over the amphitheater. "For generation upon generation, we have served absent gods, and our reward has been barren fields." A rumble could be heard in the darkening skies above. "These travelers behind me have brought news of the Progenitor." A cool wind swept through the amphitheater, threatening to drown out Hrake's voice. "I for one will worship the creator, rather than the created."
The storm broke loose suddenly, immediately drenching those on stage as well as the crowd. Seeing the first rain in over a month, and the first significant rain in over a year, the crowd burst into cheers. General celebration gave way to cheers in support of King Hrynkak and the Progenitor.
Hrake smiled and stepped back, letting the Progenitor have the stage and grateful to be done with his stint with public speaking.
***
"What are you saying, Prime Minister?" asked Jasken incredulously.
"That I am granting Hrake a junior position on Talon Squad for the remainder of the expedition, or until he feels his "quest" is complete, whichever comes first." Stritka stroked his goatee in thought. "I can't fully explain it, but Raivyn's words are weighing on me. I don’t think we should stand in the way of the Progenitor’s will.”
“Sir,” said Jasken, exasperated. “I strongly advise against putting an unvetted soldier who, up until this week, believed bronze smithing was the most advanced technology in the galaxy on my interstellar expedition.”
“And your concerns are noted. I’ll gladly take the political heat for this one, and Talon Squad will handle his orientation and training. This is my final decision, Admiral Jasken.”
Jasken stood up straight and nodded curtly. “Understood, sir. Providence shine on you.”
“And on you and your expedition, Admiral.”
The call was terminated. Jasken sat behind his desk and stewed over the upsetting turn of events. Hrake could obviously handle himself in battle, at least with primitive weaponry, and there was no reason to think he was anything but honorable based on their interactions with him so far. Still, Jasken didn’t like introducing an unknown factor on a whim.
Mairen walked into Jasken's office with a knock. The Admiral looked up from his bitter musings and the Communications Officer’s sunny smile disarmed him somewhat.
"Officer Mairen," said Jasken with a kind of warm professionalism. "Come in."
She entered the room, flicking through the screens on her tablet. "Looks like we've narrowed our choices down to a couple of worlds. One appears to have more water, but a gravity rating of 2.2. The other is closer, a more direct path to our destination and has a gravity rating of .93 but has no atmosphere to speak of. Of course, we've spotted a few dozen others, but many of them are gas giants or appear to have corrosive atmospheres."
"It's much easier to compensate for a lack of oxygen than high gravity," said Jasken. "Send the info on both but have Dekken chart us a course to the smaller world."
"Very good, Admiral," replied Mairen.
"And I take it our satellite network setup has been halted?"
"Pending the permission of all Hrudukite stakeholders, yes."
"Alright. News of our arrival should spread pretty quickly, but we're not sure if the 'known world' of the Gredites constitutes the entire sapient population of the planet."
"If the Hrudukites give us satellite permissions, we should be able to find other populations eventually."
"We should be able to get those permissions, at least from the Gredites. They take our coming as the fulfillment of their Elder Shaman's prophecy."
Mairen smiled. "Amazing how that happens."
Jasken smoothed his mustache. "You, too, huh?"
"What do you mean, Sir?"
Jasken waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing. I'm a man of faith, I say my prayers, but I've never put much stock in the miraculous. Everyone around me seems to, though."
Mairen offered a wry smile. "Maybe you ought to reconsider, then."
Jasken tried to fight back the smirk that tugged at his lips, but a slight chuckle escaped. "Dismissed, Officer."
***
Vanbrook and Hrake were sparring in the courtyard when Raivyn found them. D’Jarric and Reclan were looking on in amusement. Doc Manford was off in his own world, studiously taking notes as Rehkna psychically described the various plants throughout the courtyard.
Vanbrook was doing a fine job of redirecting Hrake’s hammer blows, but finding it difficult to recover quick enough from his parries to strike back. Finally, he chose to step in while pushing the hammer to the side, getting inside of Hrake’s reach. He was just slapping Hrake’s side with the flat of his saber when the Hrudukite took a hand off his hammer to swat Vanbrook across the courtyard. The swashbuckler rolled and sprang back to his feet, frustration on his face.
“HA! You hit. I lose,” said Hrake goodnaturedly. He was picking up Talpaertan extremely quickly. “I sword, you hammer?” He held out his hammer for Vanbrook to use.
“Actually, I’d like a minute of Hrake’s time,” said Raivyn.
“Fine,” said Vanbrook, “but I’m going to train this guy to use a saber then take him back to the dueling circuit on Griffonia. Hrake the Hammer. He’s gonna be huge.”
Shaking her head at Vanbrook’s antics, Raivyn reached out to Rehkna. Elder Shaman, do you mind helping us have a chat?
Not at all, she replied. Go ahead, Hrake can hear you.
Hello, Raivyn, said Hrake. Your mate Vanbrook is an excellent warrior. You must be proud.
The silence that followed was broken suddenly when D’Jarric and Reclan burst into laughter.
Oh my, said Hrake. What did I say?
They are not a couple, commented Rehkna.
Ah. I see. My apologies, Hrake said.
Reclan chimed in. Common mistake, I assure you.
Vanbrook busily avoided making eye contact with anyone and Raivyn shot Reclan a confused, annoyed look.
No harm done, Hrake, continued Raivyn. What I wanted to say is that I just got off a call with Admiral Jasken. Our request has been granted and you will be joining Talon Squad as a junior member.
Hrake smiled widely and D’Jarric slapped Hrake’s good shoulder, his face beaming.
Welcome aboard, Hammerhead, said Vanbrook with a grin.
I’d like to inform the King, and I have a few other questions for him as well, said Raivyn. Elder Rehkna, I hate to ask more of you, but would you mind accompanying us so we can communicate directly?
I would be happy to help, child, she answered.
Raivyn dipped her head to the shaman. Thank you. Some time I would like to discuss how you manage to get around language barriers to communicate this way.
Rehkna smiled. Again, I am happy to help.