Kaller sat down for dinner in the small dining area of his new residence provided by the College. It wasn’t a big place. Just a modest sized bedroom with an attached washroom and a large living area that served as a multipurpose room. There was exactly one window in the living area in which he looked out now as he ate a pellet meal of razorback chops and kasmi greens. The darkened street below showed a few stragglers still out and about in the staff section of the complex, but mornings started early at the College, so much of the staff retired early.
He supposed he was College staff now that his severing was complete. Kaller wouldn’t officially be starting his position for a few months. He still had to recover from the severing, and then finish a six week exit program that all retired Protectors were required to go through to help them acclimate to their new lives. This included physical and psychological rehabilitation. For some Protectors, they were trying to cope with the sudden death of their charge, or for those like Kaller, it was a matter of coping with having an unexpected end to a long and successful career.
That last thought caused him to violently stab a large portion of the razorback, which he then stuffed in his mouth. The meat was a little tough, but flavorful, not the Kaller was particular interested in his meal at the moment. He was more concerned with the file he had opened on his data pad. It was the personnel file for Jasper Ruloc.
Kaller had received a hand delivered message from a fresh faced Cadet not long after stepping out of his Remaker treatment with the Caretaker promising to come back tomorrow for the next one. Fifteen minutes later, his door chimed and Kaller opened it to find a man-boy looking nervous like he’d rather be anywhere else that the fourth floor hallway of the staff residence building. He asked if he was Kaller Hame, which Kaller said he was, and then the Cadet handed him a sealed pouch and took off. Inside was a single sheet of flex-film and a written note that was short and to the point.
Meh-len dead. Jordem outed. Wesz and Cedi not the one. Going after Ruloc.
Kaller was still wrapping his head around the fact that Meh-len was gone. He hadn’t known the man that well, but having the man’s unexpected support when he needed it had really meant a lot to him. And it only added to to the anger he’d been harboring since his sudden dismissal from the White Palace. A good man was dead, and for what?
It also didn’t bode well that Jordem had been discovered, but from what Kaller understood, the Commander knew very little of the actual operation. He was just a tool to get information and help move pieces around so his people could do what needed to be done. In fact, Jordem had been crucial in helping to get today’s special assignment switched to the desert trip. It was good to hear that it had yield results. That they had managed to narrow their possibilities down to Jasper Ruloc, if their benefactor had been right in his deduction.
Kaller had been going over Ruloc’s file the last twenty minutes to see if there were any flags that this might be a fake identity, but whoever had done it was good. According to the file, Jasper Ruloc looked real all he way down to the list of classes he took as the Frillnax Home For Displaced Children. He just hoped his people had better luck confirming whether or not the man was really Prince Adar Zahn. If Ruloc wasn’t who they were looking for, then they would have to start their search from scratch, and they would have to do it with two less people on the team.
He was almost through with his meal, when the door chimed. Kaller looked toward his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone else tonight. Maybe it was another courier with news about Ruloc?
Kaller stood up and made his way to across the small space. He opened the door, and found a panic stricken Disciple Wy-lin on the other side. He looked behind him frantically and motioned to go inside Kaller’s residence. The retired Protector reluctantly stepped aside to let the other man enter. Kaller quickly palmed the door closed, hoping no one had noticed the Disciples presence.
“What is is? What happened?” Kaller demanded.
The younger man look like he was ready to make a mad dash and he looked more than a little ill. “I think Gunther’s dead, and I’m pretty sure they have Pezeri in custody.”
Gunther was dead? How was that possible? Kaller had done much to ensure that his friend had gotten the best classes and teachers in the Program. It was the least he could do for a close friend of the Hame family.
“What? How did this happened? You need to start from the beginning. Wait,” Kaller put up a hand. “You didn’t come straight here did you?” His heart started to pound in his chest. He’d done all he could to keep himself a part from the individuals he’d had Tessa contact and convince to help in his cause. He didn’t need them making stupid mistakes now that might expose him.
Wy-lin shook his head. “No. I took the back alleys and the back door in here. No one saw me come in. I’m sure of it.”
Kaller nodded, feeling relief. “Well, that’s something at least. Did you confront Ruloc? Is he the Heir?”
The Disciple nodded eagerly. “Oh yeah, it’s him. He tried to deny it, but Pezeri tore his shirt. He had on an identity modifier just like our benefactor said, and the Imperial crest was there on his arm.”
Kaller felt a surge of victory race through him. They had found him! This was very good news indeed. But then he remembered what Wy-lin had said about Gunther and Pezeri.
“What about the others?”
The Disciple had seemed to calm down a little and didn’t look quite so jittery. “The Heir put up a fight and there was another Cadet too. A big one. The Heir hit Gunther with the Hand of Death. It knocked him out, might have even killed him. Can you believe such a thing? He isn’t even a Protector and he can kill with that move. Doesn’t seem right, does it?”
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Kaller was a little surprised, not even he had made that particular accomplishment, but then if this was the plot he thought it was, then it would stand to reason that Aragon Remeer would make sure his agent was an effective killer. “Maybe he just knocked Kaller out?”
“I don’t know, but Gunther was clutching his chest and grasping for breath. Pezeri sent me for a Caretaker, so I left. I raced down to the Repository and tapped the first Caretaker I found. On the way back though, I saw the Director, Dexter, and King Rainus making their way to the residence hall, so I let the Caretaker go on without me. I waited for awhile in the shadows to see if I could find out what had happened, but when they brought the Heir out on a medi-board, I decided it was time to leave.”
That last bit of news was promising. “So the Heir was injured?” Kaller asked.
“Yes, but I don’t know how bad. I couldn’t get close enough to get any information and not get caught. I’m not sure if they are looking for me yet or not, but I didn’t want to take the chance. I took the back alleys all the way here to report to you. What am I going to do now?
“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. The plan was to confirm Ruloc was the Heir, and then to persuade him to come with us, or at worse stun him and make it seem like we were taking him to the Repository. Then we were to smuggle him off Sora and hand him off to our benefactor. We were never supposed to get caught. Now, I’m pretty sure my career here at the College is over.”
Kaller snorted. Yeah, he knew something about that alright. His career had already ended because of the Heir, and it might get even worse if Pezeri talked. Would he talk? Kaller wasn’t sure. The Pledge had seemed sincere to help him in the bonding chambers, but secretly collaborating was one thing and being interrogated and faced with a criminal charge was another. The man was a second cousin from his mother’s side. That whole half of the family had always been considered flakes when the going got tough. In fact, Kaller had been surprised when his cousin had expressed interest in joining the Program, but had sponsored him anyways. Family was family after all.
The retired Protector eyed the other man suspiciously. “I never caught how you got wrapped up in all this. My cousin did introduce you to me after we came up from the severing chamber and said you were sympathetic to my cause, but he never said exactly what had attracted you to it. It’s not like I know you or you have a direct stake in what’s going on. Heck, you’ve barely started your career here. What are you, a five year?”
Wy-lin stood up straight as if he could prove himself with his height alone, which was impressive. He stood a few inches over Kaller and he even had a decent amount of muscle mass, though it paled to Kaller’s. “I’ve been here seven and a half years, and I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do. If the Heir is working against the Empire, then I want to help stop him.”
Kaller raised an eyebrow at the seriousness of his words. He at least seemed passionate about his conviction. “Yeah, that’s all fine and good, but this sort of business is a delicate one. And my cousin wouldn’t just trust any one to jump in who claimed they wanted to help. For all I know, you could be a spy for the College or the Empire to get evidence against me.”
Wy-lin stood there for a long moment as if judging what he should say, and then he blew out an exasperated air. “Pezeri and I are lovers. We’ve been exclusive for almost a year now. He trusts me and I him. He’s very passionate about this Heir thing, and well, I am too.”
“You are exclusive lovers and you call him Pezeri?” Kaller said with a raised eyebrow.
“You know he prefers it to his other one,” Wy-lin said in almost a conspiring tone.
Kaller barked a laugh. He knew very well his cousin was sensitive about his first name. And had requested the family to call him by his last or just Pez, but most didn’t comply. Kaller was one of the few who did, and he suspected that might be a big reason as to why Pezeri looked up to him so much.
“Good point. Give me a minute while I think this through,” Kaller motioned to the main sitting area in his living space, letting the Disciple know he could take a seat if he wanted to.
The retired Protector took the moment to think things through as Wy-lin took a seat in the tan and white lounge chair, but he sat on the very edge obviously ready to move in a second if need be. Meh-len was dead. Jordem arrested. Pezeri most likely arrest. And yavit if he wasn’t going to hear about that from his mother and everyone else on her side of the family. Gunther also might be dead, which was only now just settling in. What a mess! And there was still no word if they had been successful in eliminating the Heir.
Did it matter? At this point, they were probably looking for Wy-lin and maybe looking for Kaller too, at the very least to question. And the thought came to him again, could he trust Pezeri to keep Kaller’s involvement a secret? It really all boiled down to that, didn’t it? Because Jordem hadn’t even known about Kaller’s involvement, and if Gunther did survive, he’d never talk. Gunther was a loyal friend as there ever was. Too bad he couldn’t be sure of that with Pezeri.
The man stopped his pacing as he stood and gave his new apartment a good long look. It was shabby compared to what he’d grown used to in the White Palace. He’d had a lavish room directly below the Emperor’s bed chamber. It wasn’t the same as being in the next room to his charge, but the transport had only been six steps from his bed chamber door. He could fit this entire apartment twice over into that glorious space, and the furniture wasn’t even a glimmer of what he’d had in the Palace. This apartment was the best the College could do, of course, which Kaller had appreciated. But was it really the best he could do?
Add to that the fact that Kaller was certain the Heir’s return was not all it seemed, and the timing more than a little suspicious. Maybe the College had no choice but to support Prince Adar because the Emperor demanded it, but they’d be singing a different tune once Kaller showed them all the truth. Until then, he’d always be under suspicion, even if his cousin didn’t talk. And he was tired of being treated like the villain and being seen as a disgrace, even by those here at the College. He deserved better than that. Certainly better than this small little box to live in and an inglorious teaching position. And he knew exactly the person who would help him get it.
“We need to leave.” Kaller said, breaking the heavy silence that had settled on the tiny apartment. “If we stay here, it will only be a matter of time before they come for you and maybe even me.”
“They will be watching the shuttles,” Wy-lin spoke up from his position on the lounge.
“I know. That’s why we won’t be leaving that way.” Kaller marched into his bedroom to start throwing clothes into a pack. “I need you to grab all the pellet meals and fill every water container I have.”
“Were are we going?” Wy-lin called from the living area.
Kaller didn’t answer as he quickly stuffed clothes, a med kit, and all the luminary rods he possessed in a large rucksack he kept for the few hunting trips he’d managed to take during his time as Protector. His mind raced as he plotted his next actions out. He knew he was risking it all if he went this route, but chances were, he was on borrowed time as it was. There really was only one path left for him to take, and it wasn’t pretending to be satisfied with a sad little teaching job.