Children of Trident Book 1: Broken Treaty

Truth Revealed

Nate

    Nate watched as Cassielle boarded the shuttle and it left. He stood in the door and watched as this new person approached. She was tall, dark, and dressed in dark combat clothes. Her hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head. She had no jewelry on, but her right arm bore a black band. Her eyes captivated him, being a caramel brown color going light near the pupils.

    “I’m RuAnn. You are?” she asked.

    “Nate,” he said. “Where’d she go?”

    “There was some trouble in the city and High Council asked her to look into it.”

    “So, you’re here to babysit us?” he asked.

    “Apparently.”

    “How long have you known my mom?”

    RuAnn thought about this for a few moments.

    “I met her in the academy. She had made a habit of getting into sparing fights with Jacobee. They were evenly matched, even before her upgrades. I had challenged her and easily won.”

    Nate snorted. “Easily humbled?”

    “Not really. She underestimated me and it cost her. That doesn’t happen very often.”

    “It did on Earth,” Nate said remembering the fight. “It nearly killed her.”

    “I read the report. She was defending you. You should be honored.”

    Silence fell between them, and Nate moved from the door back to the sitting room. She followed. Most of the seats had been taken by adults. The news that Andrei was still alive swirled through the air. Xander came running through carrying a tablet and screaming with laughter, Kelly chasing him. Nate grabbed the boy as he weaved through the adults.

    “Down. Down,” Xander said as he squirmed in Nates arms.

    “Give that back, Xander,” Kelly said reaching for the tablet.

    “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What’s going on?” Nate asked as he tried to hold the squirming four-year-old.

    “I was reading in the kitchen and Xander took that from me. Aunt Cass said I could read it,” she said her cheeks flushing.

    Nate managed to extract the tablet from the child and gave it back to Kelly. Xander, not wanting to give up his prize, started to hit and bite at Nate. Celia sighed and rescued Nate from his little cousin. She carried the screaming toddler up the stairs to have his tantrum in private.

    “Thank you,” Kelly said walking away.

    She found a window nook and continued to read.

    “Welcome to the craziness that is our family,” Nate said turning to RuAnn. She chuckled.

    “And you are,” Justin said looking at the pair.

    “RuAnn. High Command asked me to stay here while she’s in the city,” she answered.

    “Don’t you think we have enough security?” a male voice asked.

    Everyone turned to see Rose and a man in a wheelchair approach from a front hall. Hank stood up as did Justin. The man had dark, silver flecked hair. He would have been taller than six feet had he been standing, probably around Gideon and Harold’s height. All exposed skin bore deep scars, except for his face. It too had been scarred, but the scarring was not as noticeable. Time healed much of what had been damaged. No one breathed. Even Kelly looked up from her tablet to see who the speaker was.

    “Even if I believed there was enough security, Andrei, you think I would pass up an opportunity to beat you at a game of Gungas Rites?” RuAnn asked.

    He smiled and nodded back to her. His chair stopped just inside the sitting room.

    “How’s everyone doing?” Andrei asked.

    Helen covered her mouth and Hank walked around one of the sofas. When he reached his oldest son, he nearly collapsed as he hugged him. He let out a sob as they clung to one another. Behind Andrei Nate saw Celia come back down with Xander walking beside her. She stopped when she saw the scene in front of her.

    Hank finally released his son and they both needed to a moment before the others could approach. One by one the siblings said hello. Patricia, who was only a teen when Cassielle and Andrei had been taken, approached last, holding her infant son Richard. She gently allowed Andrei to hold the sleeping baby. Cali, her two-year-old daughter clung to her legs.

    “He’s so precious,” Andrei said handing the baby back. “Where’s Gideon?”

    Everyone exchanged glances and no one said anything.

    “Giddin gone,” Xander said.

    He walked over to Andrei and held his arms up. None of the adults were surprised by Xander’s reaction to Andrei. Even with Celia’s assertion that Xander didn’t like strangers, he often willingly approached people with visible physical differences. He seldom asked questions and remained relatively behaved.

    “Not now, Xander,” Celia said.

    “It’s ok,” Andrei said picking up the child. “What happened to Gideon?”

    “There was an attack on the Lillian,” RuAnn said. “Gideon didn’t make it.”

    Andrei seemed at a loss for words. Xander sat still except for a small amount of fidgeting with his hands.

    “Where you with them?” Andrei finally asked.

    “We all were. If it hadn’t been for High Command, no one would have survived,” RuAnn explained.

    “Who attacked the Lillian?”

    “Jacobee is still investigating it.”

    Andrei looked at his nephew, going silent again. “No one told me,” he finally said. “Usually, Cass is good at keeping me informed about those types of things. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

    “Ah hem,” an attendant said. They all turned to her. “Second meal is ready,” she said timidly before walking away.

    “Second meal?” Celia asked.

    “Lunch,” Andrei answered.

    They followed him into the dining room to find the table already set. Celia removed Xander from Andrei’s lap and placed him at his own seat. Andrei explained what each of the entrees and sides were and which ones should go together.

    “So, if the Lillian is gone, how did you get here?” Andrei asked Nate, who sat on his left.

    “The Justine,” Nate said eating some fruit.

    “You’ll wanna eat that with some Ru Boar. It tastes better that way,” Andrei advised.

    Nate took his suggestion and found the combination very pleasing.

    “Hurt you?” Xander asked Andrei.

    Celia allowed him to sit on the other side of her brother. The table went silent.

    “Some very bad people. Aunt Cass made them all go away,” he explained to the child.

    “Aunt Cass good?”

    “She’s the best.”

    Xander broking into a wide smile. “Yeah,” he agreed.

    The tension at the table seemed broken. Nate noticed RuAnn standing by one of the windows. She kept glancing outside and then back to the those eating. Nate excused himself and joined her. Glancing outside, he could see some sort of activity happening in the distance.

    “Do you know what’s going on?” he asked.

    “Yearly harvest. This estate is not just the building, but also 9000 acres of farmland. It supplies all of the food for the High Rise and The Kalli’s Seat occupants,” she explained. “High Command said you were trained to protect people. How well?”

    “Mostly firearms, and I am well trained in a mixed martial art. It’s handy when perps get too close for my gun,” he said.

    “Perps?” she asked.

    “Perpetrators. It’s a term Earth peacekeepers use to describe law breakers.”

    RuAnn seemed to understand. “How effective is this mixed martial art?”

    “It’s not considered the deadliest, but it works when I need to use it. I’m not sure how it would live up to what is trained here. I learned it mostly for the exercise.”

    “Maybe we could spar sometime.”

    “What about the hands-off rule?” Nate asked.

    “I’m high-born.”

    “And does that mean you can touch us?” Nate asked.

    “Well…,” RuAnn began. “Usually, no one is allowed to lay hands on you or your family. That rule is suspended while sparring or if you chose to interact with someone for romantic purposes. My family does fall within an exception to the hands-off rule as it is one of the First Five.”

    “First Five?” Nate asked.

    “It’s a long explanation but the short story is, five families started the high-born class, the highest being the Kallis. My family, the Rasshas, is the next in line,” RuAnn explained.

    “So, High Council is a member of your family?” Nate asked.

    “No. She was chosen due to her status as High Command at the time. Had she refused, my own mother would have been chosen as High Council, being the matriarch of the family at the time.”

    Nate nodded. He understood that RuAnn came from a powerful family, but not how they had been overpassed as the next ruler of Trident. If they were the second in the five topmost powerful families in the Trident Empire, how come they hadn’t been chosen? Nate pondered that question as he turned back to his family.

    Other family members started to wander away from the table. Xander managed to crawl back up on Andrei’s lap again and they left the room together. Hank and Justin were discussing something, and Rose argued with Patricia over how she held the baby.

    Cassielle finally arrived back at the estate near midnight. Nate could not sleep. His dad started to cough the night before and it continued throughout the day. Sharing a room with him meant no sleep for Nate. He sat on an armchair in the hall leading to his room, reading a tablet called ‘Titan’s Fall’ when she returned. A small table lamp illuminated his small area.

    “Why are you up so late?” she asked as she approached her apartment.

    “Dad’s coughing is keeping us both up,” he said not looking up.

    Cassielle walked away and entered Nate and Kevin’s apartment instead. Nate watched as she closed the door quietly behind her. Curious, he got up and crept into the room. He could hear his dad coughing.

    “How long do you think I have?” Kevin asked hoarsely.

    “I’m not sure. LuHan’s staying here at the estate due to your condition. I’ll have him examine you again,” Cassielle said softly.

    Nate could see she had retrieved a wet cloth from the bathroom and was wiping Kevin’s brow.

    “Your fever is spiking again,” she commented.

    “It doesn’t help that I have cancer.” He chuckled and then he started to cough again.

    She remained silent for a few moments. “How long?”

    “A few years. I haven’t told Nate yet,” Kevin said through wheezy coughs.

    “How long did the doctors on Earth give you?”

    “The prognosis was good, but who knows now.”

    They sat in silence and his chest rattled with every breath.

    “What kind?” she finally asked.

    “Pancreatic. It’s gonna kill me, princess.”

    “We have the upgrades,” she offered her voice shaking. “You said you would think about it. It would solve all your health problems.”

    “Aw…,” he started but another coughing fit interrupted them.

    “We don’t have much time.”

    “I know.”

    Nate slowly exited the room and turned to walk back to his reading spot. RuAnn stood in his way.

    “Where are you going?” she asked softly.

    “I’m giving my parents some privacy,” he said.

    He slipped past the officer and moved his reading to a couch in the sitting room. RuAnn seated herself on an armchair across from him. In the dark of the room, the reds of the carpets reminded him of blood stains.

    “What type of enhancements do you have?” he asked her after a few moments.

    “Regeneration and battle,” she said. “It’s standard on all officers in the military.”

    “Does it make you stronger?”

    “Depending on the type you get. I have the tactical battle upgrade. It gives me an upper hand with logistics.”

    “What type does my mom have? She said something about an energy upgrade,” Nate said looking at the tablet in his hands.

    “Regeneration is the only one I know of. I know she has two others, but I don’t ask, and she doesn’t divulge,” RuAnn said.

    “You said you’ve known her since the academy. How did you get so close to her?”

    “Since she is a Kalli, many cadets were terrified of even sparring with her. Her only partner used to be Jacobee since he didn’t believe she belonged in the military. He wanted to beat her so bad she would drop out, but she just kept on coming back for more. When I joined, about 4 months later, we met and immediately started sparing ourselves. Years passed and we continued to remain friends. When she became High Command, she was allowed to choose a special command team. I was one of the chosen few.”

    Nate pondered her words. His mother was stubborn, just like him.

    “I bet she has a mouth on her,” he commented.

    RuAnn chuckled. “She used to get in so much trouble."

    They sat in silence before RuAnn continued, "We were on a mission, and we were captured by the enemy. She kept talking, and the more she talked the angrier they got. This one big guy got in her face and started yelling at her. Once he was close enough, she head-butted him. So, he makes the mistake of untying her to try and beat some manners in her. He hauls her away and we were left, waiting.”

    “How did that end?” Nate asked snickering.

    “It was about three or four minutes later she reappears and sets us free. We aren’t sure what she did, but it was effective.” Even in the dark he could see her smiling.

    “I’ve seen some of her moves.”

    “She is pretty impressive,” RuAnn said standing up. “Enjoy your book.”

    RuAnn left the room. The question about her upgrades had been very personal, yet she answered it without hesitation. Nate briefly wondered if it had to do with him or his family. He tried to read his book. The words kept blurring together, and his eyes finally closed.

    Sometime in the night, someone removed the tablet and placed a blanket over him. He stirred when the morning sun came through the windows. It was the first night since he left Earth, he had been able to sleep. The palace felt still in the cool morning. He walked quietly back to his room and slipped in. His mother was on a lounge in the first room with her eyes closed. His father slept in his bed. Nate closed himself in the wardrobe and changed into a new set of clothes. Upon exit, he found his mother had left but Kevin was still asleep.