The Rise of the Omarlo Clan. Rosylan McCallum

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СКАЧАТЬ exile could truly be expected of him. He loved Imir, and this love extended to his cousin’s family. He and Imir, as he remembered, fought often and were highly competitive with each other as boys growing up. Sometimes it seemed to Drakar that Imir had two personalities. Imir went about mostly as any normal boy but depending on the circumstances would immediately take the lead. There was never any doubt Imir had the mind-set of a leader.

      Drakar accepted that Imir would rule with him, Drakar, as his right hand. Therefore, there had never been a bone of contention about power between them. When they were young men, only Drakar knew they loved the same woman. Drakar had known from the start that Tess had eyes only for Imir. He honored that and kept his love to himself. He had instead dedicated his life to being a member of the warrior caste whose goal was the protection of the house lord.

      He now realized and accepted that life had its odd quirks. His duty now was to raise the children of his secret love as his own. He disliked that it would be in exile, but it would be done. It was more than he had ever expected. Yes, he would take one day at a time. He knew, after all, these two were used to being cared for by adults other than their parents. He knew that given time, it would be understood that Drakar was the new caretaker responsible for their safety. He in turn would do his best for them. It was not in his heart to fail his liege lord or his one love in this.

      One evening, approximately two years into their travels, the ship signaled their approach to the last preset hyperspace jump. The boys were somewhere in the ship. They were playing their favorite game with Drakar. With so many vacant rooms in the ship, Drakar had, on the second day, sealed off all areas that would present a danger to the boys. Hide-and-seek became the favorite pastime in the form of a game called “I am sending, can you find me?” Drakar had made up the rules of this game with careful consideration. This became their first conscious use of the mind-link implant. Breaking the rules, which happened often in the beginning, had painful consequences. There was also another favorite “quiet time, and talk only with your hands.”

      Drakar responded to the ship’s signal. He keyed in the acknowledgement codes and then used the mind link to tell the boys that the game was over and to meet him in the corridor leading to the control room. They arrived at the same time from different directions. Both boys, now six, stood before Drakar, laughing and happy, completely unaware of this momentous end to their journey. “Where is Mother, and when will we see her and Father? Where are we going? Are we there yet?” These questions had stopped in frequency, ten months into the trip, after constant explaining of the situation on Drakar’s part. Only one question was still asked as an afterthought, are we there yet? It had a life of its own as far as Drakar was concerned.

      Drakar entered the control room followed by the boys. He strapped them into a pod and told them that they were getting ready for the last jump. The boys looked at each other and smiled. As a rule, Drakar kept the boys informed as if they were adult crewmembers. It began that way because Drakar had no other adults to talk to, and it continued for their safety should anything happen to him. The daily schedule became time spent with the computer educator as well as with Drakar drilling them on the operation of the ship.

      From the pilot seat, he opened the control panel to engage the concealing mode, glanced at the boys, and then pressed the keys that started the countdown to initiate the jump. He then climbed into his pod. Drakar opened his eyes and exited his pod. He helped each child out of their pods as one by one they opened their eyes. Then he took them to the ship’s view panel and saw for the first time the planet that was their destination.

      He checked the control panel to confirm that the ship was still in concealing mode. He then placed and secured each child into a seat in preparation for landing. The coordinates for the landing site were displayed. Silently the ship entered the planet’s atmosphere, quietly dropping lower and lower, gliding down to the remote mountainous countryside. Gently the ship could be felt to hover at ground zero. Drakar used his mind link as he had been instructed to make contact with the T42 computer link. Visuals on the ship monitors indicated no movement within the target area. Drakar sent the code <arrival now>. The hangar doors, which were camouflaged at the base of the mountain, slid open. Drakar guided the ship into the hangar and brought it to a stop, turned off the concealing mode and sent <arrival completed>, and the hangar doors closed. He shut down the operating system and opened the ship’s exit door.

      “Well, boys,” he said, “thanks to the Maker, we have arrived safely at our destination and new home.”

      Collin, in his excitement, could not unbuckle himself and looked woefully at Drakar and sent <help>; Johan, on the other hand, the one who got things right more often than not, was out of his seat and triumphantly looking out the exit door. Drakar helped Collin and watched as the two brothers stood together at the door, looking and pointing. Drakar had, as forethought before the last jump, packed and placed near the door the things that they were to take with them.

      “Give me a hand with these things. Put them on the lift. There should be a motorized vehicle, according to my instructions stored here for our use. Do you see it?”

      “Yes, yes. It’s there!” said the boys in unison as they moved over to Drak to help put their things on the lift.

      Obedience was not a problem. Racine’s ruling class’s offspring had amahs that provided early childhood nurturing, and obedience was a strong part of the nurturing. The children themselves became a point of focal interest to parents when they reached the age of ten and older. The females were then sent to the Isle of Lilt for training, and the males were fostered to other Keeps for educational follow-up and combat training. However, under the changed conditions that the twins were in, they had learned and respected over the last two years that Drak was in charge. They had some leeway under certain circumstances but not much, and at this time, they knew to follow Drak’s every word.

      Drak looked across the hangar and saw the vehicle, an open flyer built to carry four. Drak, with the boys helping as much as they could since they were about to burst with excitement, finally had moved their things from the ship to the lift. Drak lowered the lift. It then took several trips to load everything into the flyer.

      “Well,” said Drak, “finally, I guess that’s it. We are ready to go.” The boys let out a loud whoop and then began the pushing and shoving for the seat next to the driver. “Get into the seats behind me, both of you,” said Drak, resolving the problem without anyone’s feelings getting hurt.

      He checked first to ensure no one was about. Using his mind link, Drak told the T42 computer to open and then close the hangar as they flew out. He then followed the directions to their new home. Drak in fact was as excited as the boys. This looked to be a fine M-class planet, he thought, and he was glad to be out of the confining space of the ship. As he flew, he could see that this area was definitely farming country. It was good to see the sky and breathe fresh air. He looked in the mirror at the boys, and they were wide-eyed, just staring. He guessed that he looked like them and laughed. It just felt good to be alive and here at last.

      Their destination had been a planet located in the free space zone on the edge of the Nissarian system, Base II. It was classified as a farming settlement. It was one of the oldest human settlements established when man reached out into space. The farm was in the county of Haskin, known for its mountains and flowing river streams. Drak stopped the flyer at the sign that read Hawk’s Homestead. This was their destination. He could see a ranch-style house in the distance. Their farm consisted of fifty acres that had a river stream and a mountain range running through it.

      Two months after settling in, Drak called to the twins to get ready. They were going into town. For this trip, they used the old pickup truck. They spent the better part of the day there. Drak had to get food supplies and more clothes for the boys. Then he treated them to dinner. Even he was not quite happy with his home-cooking skills, so this was a treat that they all enjoyed. Driving home that night, СКАЧАТЬ