Devotion (Chosen by the Karal #5)(45)
“Be careful, Okil.”
And then he went to the space cruiser, turning once to wave goodbye to her before he joined three other Karalians on board. Torac, the Hier Commander, was travelling back to Earth. The other two were guards; he recognised Drak and Rahcol, and felt easier. If they were planning to assassinate him, he would have expected guards he didn’t know, maybe even of the warrior class. It took a lot to kill a fellow Karalian.
The journey was quick; they had prior clearance to land at the airport. The whole premise of the trip was for Okil to give a personal answer to the President on the subject of the Karal supplying space cruisers for Earth’s use. He knew the President would not like the answer, but it was a diversionary tactic. While Okil was having his head chewed off about the cruisers, the other three were going to extract Charlie’s parents.
They had been located
A soon as he was finished, Okil was to make his way back to the cruiser where hopefully the others would be waiting. Then they would take off and journey straight back to Karal. It still surprised Okil that the council was taking this risk, but then there was no other alternative. The only way to stop this virus becoming a reality was to take the people who were capable of developing it.
“We rendezvous here in two hours. I don’t care how you do it, Okil, but you finish your meeting and get back here so we can leave. The longer we are on the ground, the more danger we are in.”
“What about the humans? Are you going to remove their tags?” Okil asked, wondering if they needed a med kit to take with them.
“No. That has already been taken care of. The tags were destroyed when they escaped the resistance. They have been living like wild animals in the wilderness for months. I shudder to think what they look and smell like.”
“I am pleased you have not lost your compassion, Hier Commander.” Okil smiled to himself at the look of disgust on Torac’s face.
Torac made a derisory noise at the thought, and then lowered the ramp for Okil. As soon as he was on the ground, the ramp was closed. They were going to drive through the city streets and out into the countryside for the pickup. If they were asked their business, they were to say that they were collecting soil samples for the scientists on Karal to analyse. The more information they had, the easier it would be to find a new Earth. It sounded plausible, as long as no one delved too deep into their mission.
As the cruiser rumbled over the rough tarmac and onto the road, Okil hoped they would be here waiting for him when he came back or whether his punishment might be to be stranded on Earth instead. That would not happen. The council might not see him as particularly valuable, but they would never leave a Karalian at the mercy of Earth. Especially now that there was the very real threat of the virus.
Making his way across the city, he hurried to the Presidential Palace. It always made him uncomfortable to gaze on the green grass through the bars of the gate leading into the home of the President. It was opulent, such a contrast to the city outside the gates. Worse was the knowledge that the President spent little time there; he had a pent in one of the Oxydomes, a fact that he kept very quiet. But the Karal’s probes had watched and monitored him enough to know that was where he spent most of his time.
Okil showed his ID to the guard, who took it and then phoned through to the palace. Okil was then asked to stand in front of an image scanner, and only when the control went green did the gates open to allow him in. That was the first of three security checks. Okil was used to them, although he often wondered whom it was the President was protecting himself from.
Did he ever suspect the Karal? If he didn’t, now might be a good time to start. Okil knew the council too well. Lytril, especially, would have a festering wound where this betrayal was concerned.
“Okil. So pleased to see you again.” The President came to meet him, hand outstretched, Okil shook it politely, hating the coldness of the human’s flesh in his. “I hope you bring me good news. We are running out of time.”
“I understand. And that is why the Hier Council have decided to move forward the deep space mission. The first weekly lottery will be made up of females who fit the mental and physical conditions for the mission.”
“I see. But that does not answer my question,” the President replied, flashing a false smile. “You would make a first-class politician, Okil. If you ever need a job, you know where to find me.”
“My loyalty will always be to Karal.”
“But is Karal loyal to you? I only ask because you have never been rewarded with a female, have you?”
Okil was unsure where this was heading, and he felt uncomfortable. Did the President know about Tikki? It was more than possible the President had been tracking the movements of all Karalians on the planet, and his fear for Torac and the others intensified. It would be quite a coup for the President to arrest the Hier Commander for kidnapping.
How had Charlie’s parents been found? With no tags, Torac could be on the way to pick up an imposter and they would never know. Until it was too late. Did they have the virus prepared, was this the first move against Karal? Okil felt the air grow heavy. Despite oxygen being piped into the room, it was stale and flat.
He fought to control his colours. They wanted to pour across his skin; liquid fear flowed through his veins.
“When I have completed my duties, I will be rewarded. My time away from Karal, visiting Earth, would make it impossible to for me to be with a female. Although that may change. I have been given the honour of helping with the mission to find you a new planet.”