Traitor's War

By Keith Stevenson

The thrilling conclusion to The Lenticular Series.

How far will a traitor go?

Rhees and Udun's mission to free Homeworld has begun and war with the Hegemony is inevitable. Unsure she can bear the cost in human lives, Rhees desperately seeks a way to help her Lenticular allies while saving humanity.

Udun is dete

• Language: English
• Publisher: coeur de lion
• Release date: Jun 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9780645746631

Keith Stevenson

Keith Stevenson is a speculative fiction writer, editor, reviewer, publisher and podcaster. He was editor of Aurealis Magazine - Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction from 2001 to the end of 2004 and formed the multi-award winning independent press coeur de lion publishing in 2005. In 2014 he launched Dimension6 magazine and became a speculative fiction reviewer for the Newtown Review of Books. He blogs about the ideas and issues behind Horizon at http://www.horizonbooks.com.au and you can learn more about his work at www.keithstevenson.com.

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Prologue

Datahive, Cape York Conurb, Earth / Sol Sector / Hegemony

Troels Volmar’s desk was filling up with reports from across the Hegemony and beyond, including the latest information on Fleet’s advance into Hanloi space.

Close to home, events were running according to plan. His assassination of Representative Minch on Mars had weakened the Inclusionist political party and set the stage for their demise. His operative Denev Antwer was busy radicalising young Inclusionists to undertake a terror attack that would see the entire party outlawed.

But Volmar still had something to prove. He’d overstepped his authority in Cygnus Sector when he’d entered into a treaty with the Maagba – the same aliens who had destroyed the Brell colony system – to police that sector for the Hegemony. He’d been keen to show Permanent Head Breslaw that the Hegemony Diplomatic Corps could deal with military threats without any need for Fleet intervention, all on the pretext of freeing up Fleet resources to be used elsewhere. But Breslaw hadn’t been fooled. He’d reminded Volmar that the latitude he allowed him to do whatever was needed only functioned as long as the results were invisible. A treaty with the Maagba was hardly that.

At Volmar’s urging, Fleet Admiral Vargas had directed Admiral Gart Lowrans, his adjutant, to sign off on sacrificing the illegal Brell, Sissilak and Totek battleforce to the Maagba raiders as another means to gauge the Maagba’s combat strength. But Vargas hadn’t known about the treaty and had been less than impressed when he found out; and Undersecretary Laneaux, who commanded Sol System Security, had called Volmar out on it at a special meeting of the executive. That had stung the most: that the permanent head had been forced to issue him with a rebuke.

Breslaw came to see him afterwards and his warning had been plain. Play nice with Fleet and show how the different arms of the Central Administration can work together successfully. Fleet strength bolstered by HDC intelligence.

Easy enough to say, but there was nothing more high stakes than the Hanloi campaign. The Hanloi currently controlled all of space around galactic centre. If the Hegemony couldn’t dominate them, Earth’s expansion would fail. Supposed allies would turn away and enemies would be emboldened. But information on the Hanloi was sparse, despite HDC’s best efforts. As a result, tactical scenarios could only take them so far. In short, Volmar was worried though he would never admit it to anyone.

He crossed his office to the internal window and looked down through the galleried levels of the Datahive. The holopit image of the galactic arm shone bright, showing tac icons plotting Fleet’s advance: one group on a direct approach to Hanloi space, while the other had taken a more circuitous route through the region the local aliens called the Lenticular.

Volmar sighed, fogging the glass. It wouldn’t be long before all the pieces were in place. They had to succeed.

1

Czerag Hide, The Deep Desert, Homeworld / Kresz System / Lenticular

Udun!

I woke, disoriented at the sight of the dull blue shield metal on the ceiling above me. Then I remembered where I was and rolled off my mat to push aside the door hanging.

It was Rhees who had woken me and she stood beside Tzek, longtime advisor to Czerag, our house hierarch who had been killed when the Hegemony invaded.

Rhees and I had found Tzek and others from my house sheltering from the Hegemony invaders in this refuge below the deep desert – one of a network of hides that House Czerag kept as a place of last resort. It spoke to a lack of trust inherent in the hierarchs that, even after cycles of peace on Homeworld, places like this had still been stocked and maintained, their locations kept secret from rival houses. Now we were grateful for them.

This is no time for sleep, Tzek told me. You’ll be leaving soon and I have to show you both something.

His staff thudded rhythmically on the stone floor as he led the way along the main corridor of the hide to a set of steps spiralling down to another level. Most of the lower corridor was filled with stacks of cargo podules, leaving just enough room for us to pass through.

This is where most of the supplies are kept, Tzek said. We have enough for our current complement to last three cycles. But I’d rather not be here long enough to use them all up. In any case, we keep him down here, well away from the others.

Him? I asked.

Tzek stopped in front of a heavy door clad in the shield metal that covered the hide’s ceilings. He operated the lock and the door swung wide to reveal a small room with a weak globe set into the ceiling. Inside sat a Kresz, about the same colour and size as me, but he still had his hood. He wore a finely wrought green torque around his neck.

This is our guest, Tzek said. His name is Amaroc.

It was clear from the colour of Amaroc’s torque that he was House Kergis and a senior house functionary.

Hierarch Kergis had betrayed us all when he sided with the Hegemony ships as they invaded Kresz space. Now he ruled Homeworld with the Hegemony’s support. It was still a mystery how he’d managed to keep his plotting with the enemy a secret, given the empathic connection between all Kresz who retained their hoods.

Amaroc’s attention focused immediately on Rhees. A Human. His voice was hoarse but gained strength as he spoke. Something tells me you’re not here to liberate me, Human. You could have brought some food though. I’m starving in here.

You have to prove you’re worth the rations, Tzek said.

Amaroc raised his claws and glared at Tzek. Even without my mantle I could see he was consumed with hate. If he wasn’t restrained he would have attacked us as soon as the door had opened.

When Kergis comes, he’ll roast you slowly in your shell, old one, he snarled. And I’ll be there to watch.

We get nothing from him, Tzek said to me. Even on an empathic level. He hates us as much as we hate him. That’s all.

What do you know about him? I asked.

He was with the Defenders on the frontal assault of the escarpment and clearly in charge of his contingent, maybe more. The authorities he carried said he was part of a unit called the ‘stek-la’. It’s not clear what that is but the permissions were signed by Kergis. I’d know his mark anywhere.

Which meant Amaroc was close to Kergis and could be a good source of information. We’ll take him with us when we go, I said.

Oh, you’ll take me, will you, cripple? How fortunate for me.

Not really, I said. I don’t think you’ll enjoy our cargo locker. It’s smaller than this cell.

Amaroc screamed obscenities at us as Tzek pushed the heavy door shut.

He’s a charmer, Rhees said. Is it worth the trouble to take him?

He’s no use to us here, Tzek said. He’s told us nothing. And not for want of trying on our part. He’s been on subsistence rations for a season now, but he’s still sure of himself, and full of fight.

Tzek may have had no luck, but my sister, Isza, could be very persuasive. He must know information that could help us, I said. It’s worth a try.

As Tzek led us back to the upper level I remembered how tense things had been between us in the escarpment when I returned from Telsan space. I’d seen a different side to him here. He’d protected the excisees and led the other House Czerag Kresz to safety.

Come. We should eat.

I thought Tzek meant just the three of us would dine, but when we got to the commons the room was full, everyone already seated. Even Reka, Djidka and the rest of the excisees – those, like me, who’d had their empathic mantles severed by the Hegemony – were present. Though I noticed that no intact Kresz sat at their tables. Still, the difference between now and our first day in the hide was palpable. No strained silence, no stares. The conversation level barely dipped as we headed to the servery, picked up our platters and selected preserved fruit and dried fish.

It was only when we sat at our table and Tzek remained standing that the talk stilled.

You’re leaving soon, Udun, and everyone wanted to join together before that happens, Tzek said. "You may not fully realise it, but you’ve brought hope to us again. Hope that the fight’s not over. And you’ve completed a change that our enemies started. I thought I was too old for lessons. I thought the excised were to be pitied. Many here wanted to end their lives. But you’ve shown us that even with the communion shattered we are still strong. And those that have lost the most are strongest of all. That’s a hard thing to come to terms with after so many years of no change.

I wish you could feel what I feel in this room, Udun. Because you’d know that what you and the other excisees have been through was worth it. Kergis and the Hegemony tried to break us. You’ve shown that they failed.

The skin beneath my chitin tingled as I saw the looks on the faces of the other excisees. I couldn’t sense anything of course, but this simple act of coming together – sitting among the intact and hearing Tzek’s words – was enough.

Tzek said I’d caused this change. Some of that may have been true – I’d certainly been changed by what was done to me, by everything I’d seen – but one change was more than anything else. This feeling of belonging. Of being Kresz.

I’m just doing what I can to fight our enemies, I muttered.

That’s fine, Udun. Eat. Let us all enjoy this evening together, Tzek said, and sat down.

Rhees was looking at me with her teeth bared, an expression I’d come to associate with humour. My friend, the saviour of his people, she said.

It was ridiculous and I stuffed some preserved fish into my feeder mandibles to avoid having to say anything else. Thankfully Rhees and Tzek turned to their own meals.

As I ate I thought about what Rhees had said. Were we friends? Was friendship even possible between two beings whose species were at war? I didn’t think it was. But we’d agreed to cooperate and further each other’s interests. And given what we’d been through together so far, I trusted her.

We finished our meal in silence. As Rhees and I rose, the others all stood too. It was a sign of deep respect that I would never have thought possible.

No doubt Tzek had influenced this change in the assembled Kresz more than anything I’d done. I could imagine him moving between groups, seeking out those with even a tiny amount of sympathy for me and the other excisees, using his influence and clever words like blowing on a warm coal until the fire sprang to life and spread.

Yes, if there was a saviour here, as Rhees put it, it was Tzek, doing what he needed to give his people a fighting chance. But next time I returned home, I wouldn’t feel like an outsider any more.

∞

When I arrived at our final session with the excisees the next day, I was struck with how different everything was from our first meeting. Then, the only thing the excisees had in common was the thing that shamed them in their own eyes and the eyes of the intact. They’d been thrust together by the others in the hide who wanted nothing to do with them. But after sharing their struggles and acknowledging the simple triumph of staying alive, they’d found something that bonded them more closely than before. There was healing here.

Now they had a chance to do something that would show the intact Kresz just how valued they should be. That would be a kind of healing too. Not just for the excised but for everyone.

Djidka and the Cultivator Galok sat with Rhees and most of the others, studying maps showing the locations of the other hides we’d been able to discover. Djidka looked up at me as I entered and her feeders spread wide. I spread my own feeders in return. It wasn’t exactly the common sending – I knew I’d never feel that again – but this would do. We excised were learning how to be together with others again.

I saw Reka in the corner in deep conversation with a female excisee. Sazu was her name and I knew they would be travelling together. It was good to see Reka had a friend. He’d always been quiet and withdrawn when we were growing up together and I hadn’t realised that he’d struggled with the empathic link just as much as I had. I’d grated against the feelings of others who viewed me as odd and that had made me stronger. But Reka had blamed himself and turned inward. It would have been unthinkable before, but it seemed that losing his mantle had freed him.

I joined Rhees at the table. Djidka and Galok moved to make space for me to view the charts.

I spent a lot of time working those marshlands, Galok said, pointing a claw at the region beneath the southern shore of the Inland Sea. Once we get there it’s less than a day to the hills.

Sounds good, Rhees said and bared her teeth at me. Groups are set, routes are clear.

I looked around the table at the faces of the others. How many would survive the journey or the fight to come?

Gather round! It was Tzek.

He dropped a basket on the floor, filled with what I guessed must be newly made at’heka rods. They were about the length of a lower forearm, painted with lines of twisting colour for each house, and topped with long braids threaded with bleached and dyed ah’lok feathers.

One each, Tzek called as the excisees jostled to get close to the rods.

It’s like kindergarten, Rhees said, but the voder didn’t provide a translation.

At the first sign you’ve entered house lands, Tzek explained, take the rod from your pack and hold it above your head like this. He lifted a wooden rod as high as he could despite his thickened shell. And shake it continually so the feathers dance. Try it.

The excited talk among the group rose in volume as they all held up their at’heka rods and shook them vigorously.

That’s right, Tzek said. As long as the feathers dance you will be given fair hearing by those who guard the house.

The plan was for the excisees to carry our communications equipment to the other hides we’d identified so we could make contact with the remaining free Kresz on Homeworld and – hopefully – coordinate a counterattack against the invaders. The fact the excisees had no hoods meant any intact Kresz they met wouldn’t be able to sense their emotions or tell that they were keeping the real reason for their journey secret. But excisees were often euthanised on sight and it would be a dangerous trek across the desert and into other house lands, even with the at’heka rods.

The excisees had gained so much in the past few days and still they were willing to risk all of that for all of us. For all of Homeworld. I knew there were many more like them out there. Victims of Kergis and the Hegemony. Broken and lonely, just like these excised had been when we arrived. If I survived, I would do everything I could to make sure those others found the same friendship and love I saw here.

All right, all right, Tzek said loudly and the group quietened. Stow your rods in your packs and get ready. It’s time.

I crossed to Reka, who was refastening the straps of his pack. He glanced at me then focused on his task again.

You’re happier now, brother, I said.

He paused, considering my words. I am. And sometimes it puzzles me. That the worst things can happen, but time passes and one day there is something to be grateful for. That’s how I feel now.

I placed my claws on his shoulder plate. That’s how I feel too.

I thought about asking him not to go with the others. To stay here and be safe. His life had already been enough of a struggle. But when he rejoined Sazu and the rest of the excisees and I saw how they were together … He wasn’t a scared child any more. He wanted this, and who was I to deny him.

When everyone was ready, we walked together to the hide entrance. Two Defenders lifted the glassy plug above our heads, pushing it through the ceiling and sliding it aside. All the moisture in the room was instantly sucked through that hole and my desert eyelid slid into place to cut the sudden glare.

Rhees accompanied us onto the surface. No part of her skin was uncovered. She’d wrapped a thick cloth around her head and borrowed a pair of dark-lensed goggles from the workshop. She’d also tied thick slabs of leather to her boots to keep the soles from melting.

A baking wind pushed at us, shifting direction. All three suns were up and the sky was perfectly cloudless, glowing like an arch of molten metal.

It’s like standing in a furnace, Rhees said. I don’t know how they’re going to make it anywhere in this.

The excisees wore their packs strapped across their shoulder plates. Each carried one of our communications devices along with the at’heka rod and a pathetically small stock of supplies. It was true that a Human couldn’t survive crossing this desert. But what the excisees had was enough.

Tzek’s voice rose above the wind. If Czerag were here, I know he would be proud. You have proved your strength, and that strength will sust–

He stopped at a loud cracking noise.

I turned back to the entrance to see more Kresz emerging. They walked forward to gather around the smaller group of excisees. No one spoke, but soon it felt like the entire hide had joined us. None of the intact Kresz knew what the excisees were doing, but it was clear they were going on some kind of mission. And they’d come to bear witness to their departure.

I felt suddenly proud. Here was a group of intact Kresz paying silent respect to a group of excisees who normally wouldn’t be spoken to or acknowledged, and more than likely dispatched without a second thought by any intact with a blade. I caught Reka’s eye and it seemed to me he stood a little taller.

Tzek spoke again to the small group now in the middle of a larger one. The house needs you. Do well.

And that was it. The travellers, as Tzek called them, turned and walked into the blistering heat, already splitting up onto their separate headings. We all stayed to watch until their images broke apart into abstract pieces of movement in the rippling heat and were gone.

They would cross out of Czerag lands in three days or maybe a little longer, their paths diverging south and east. Then the going – while physically easier – would get more dangerous: skirting settlements, avoiding Kergis or Hegemony patrols, staying alive. Not all of them would make it. I hoped Reka wasn’t among those who fell.

∞

Rhees hurried back underground as soon as the excisees had gone. I found her hunkered against the rough wall, unwrapping the bindings from her head and pulling the thick leather from her boots, as the rest of the Kresz streamed past us into the tunnels.

I passed her a waterskin and she took a swig, tipping her head back and making a strange bubbling noise before swallowing.

Are you all right? I asked.

She took another drink. I am now. How can anything live out there?

Tzek appeared, leaning heavily on his staff. It finds a way. He reached his claws down and helped her up. You’ll be leaving now?

We’ll wait until nightfall, Rhees said. I’m not setting foot out there again in daylight if I can possibly avoid it. But yes. It’ll be easier to monitor the travellers once we get back to the Jantri station.

And we still need to organise our forces off Homeworld, I added.

They need more than organising, Rhees said. Me, a small group of Kresz refugees and an advanced species that prefers to stay in the shadows isn’t going to be enough.

She was right, of course. Nok of Jantri’va had brought us together, offered his station as a base of operations and fabricated the communications devices that would avoid Hegemony detection. The instrumentality he commanded was far beyond any technology the rest of the Lenticular possessed, but he guarded his privacy. Partly to avoid undue attention, but partly – I thought – because he was so different from every other species in the Lenticular that his motivations couldn’t be understood within a normal frame of reference. That made him difficult to trust. Still, he was the only ally we had so far.

2

Czerag Hide, The Deep Desert, Homeworld / Kresz System / Lenticular

Rhees and Udun emerged onto the glassy desert in full darkness. The ground was still hot, and a dry wind blew in from the north. The cooling glass pinged and tinkled around them. The other Kresz from the hide stood together, a deeper mass of black in the total darkness forming a path to the invisible ship. The whole scene felt surreal to Rhees.

Individuals spoke softly as she and Udun passed between the group of Kresz: Sakat guide you. Go safe to your destination.

Rhees recalled her conversation with Nok before they met up with the Kresz refugees. Nok had described Udun as someone who was changing the course of history for his people. She had to admit he’d been right.

Tzek, holding a glowing lantern, waited for them at the end of the line, just in front of where the ship sat, still invisible.

We’ll be in touch by comms, Udun said to him. And we’ll meet again.

Count on it, Tzek said and clasped Udun’s lower forearm.

Tzek did the same to Rhees. His armoured claws felt smooth and strong against the fabric of her onepiece. Be safe, Reeks.

Rhees looked into his dark eyes and felt a mix of emotions. Gratitude that he’d accepted her so easily, concern for his safety and that of the others hiding out here, and shame for how the Hegemony had destroyed the lives of these people.

When she’d first encountered Kresz in real life, they’d been so alien to her. Taller than any human, covered in thick shell-like articulated armour, arms and legs that bent strangely with twice as many elbows and knees, and their faces … The eyes were human enough but their mouths were a mass of articulated claws like something out of a nightmare. And yet living among them she’d learned they were just like her or anyone. They all had dreams, things they regretted. They were people, no matter what they looked like, and they deserved to be respected.

Tzek turned and raised his voice. Bring the prisoner. He’ll present no trouble, he added to Rhees and Udun. He was easily captured and didn’t put up much of a fight.

Two of the largest Kresz Rhees had seen cut through the group, each holding Amaroc tightly by an arm.

His mouth parts rippled as he spoke. You are all going to die.

I’ll show you where to stow him, Rhees said to the guards.

Guided by her disc, she walked up the invisible entry steps. The large Kresz hesitated for a moment then followed her with Amaroc. Inside the ship, Rhees palmed open a locker just past the internal airlock and the Kresz guards pushed Amaroc roughly inside.

She followed them out again. Udun and Tzek were grasping forearms one last time.

Thank you, Tzek, Udun said. For now and for all those cycles you were around when I was growing up. You’ve given me a great deal.

The old Kresz blinked. I have a feeling you’ll return whatever I gave you many times over.

Udun had told Rhees about how much of an outsider he’d felt growing up on Homeworld. It seemed he’d found his way back into his family. She was glad for him. But she couldn’t see a similar path for herself. Her father, who’d been distant all the time she was growing up, had all but given up on her when she crashed out of Fleet in disgrace. Her time working in the Hegemony Diplomatic Corps had ended disastrously when Volmar tried to kill her, and she had no doubt that if she turned up anywhere in human space she’d be shot on sight.

She re-entered the ship and sat in front of the displays, prepping for flight. Udun sat in the crash-chair beside her.

You’re a hit, she said.

Hit what? he asked.

I mean you’re popular with your Kresz friends there. Hell, they were even nice to me because I was with you.

Udun ignored the remark. Now all we have to do is get back to the Jantri station.

And hope our couriers do their job, Rhees added.

They’ll do it. Nothing but death will stop them.

The Hegemony’s going to regret picking a fight with you and Tzek.

What about her? It was all too likely she’d die alone, perhaps right here on Homeworld. At best she’d be forgotten by everyone who knew her. At worst she’d be reviled by humanity as a species traitor.

Fuck, she was getting maudlin. And anyway, Denev would care. He’d helped her when they were investigating the raider attacks in Cygnus Sector. And when he’d found out she was still alive after Volmar tried to kill her, he’d kept helping her. Despite the fact she’d killed Petar – his brother and her boyfriend – in a training accident. Another messy set of emotions she’d rather not look at.

She activated the drive and the ship lifted silently into the dark.

Safely out of atmosphere, Rhees negotiated their way past the shell of satellites and ferry craft in near-orbit. Far off to port they could see the beanstalk elevator decelerating in readiness for docking with the Kresz station – the Hub, Udun called it. A pretty standard spoke-wheel configuration of cargo bays studded around a central disc. The beanstalk cable passed straight through the centre of the station and kept on going until it met the counterweight asteroid a few more thousands of clicks above. A Hegemony Hurricane Class corvette was docked at the Hub and a flight of singleships flew past it as she watched, heading for the planet. Their own ship had gone completely undetected and landed in plain sight in the middle of an arid wasteland. Volmar would freak if he knew.

She checked her setting and accelerated, leaving Udun’s world behind. I think we’ll take the conventional route back, she said.

You mean the Point? Is that wise?

Rhees shrugged, but wasn’t sure if he understood her gestures. It’ll be crowded, but they can’t see us. And we’ll get an idea of Hegemony deployment around the Point and on the immediate Voss Space side.

The Point it is then.

With the Hub and everything else safely behind them she punched for maximum acceleration. She was almost used to the lack of any sensation of speed now. But if whatever generated the inertialess field failed, they’d be a colourful paste of human and Kresz insides smeared across the back of the cockpit.

She became aware of a steady thumping from the rear of the ship. Amaroc. They flew on for several minutes and the sound didn’t let up.

Is he going to keep doing that all the way back? she said.

House Kergis is known for its stubbornness, Udun said, unlocking his harness.

She laid a hand on the smooth chitin of his middle forearm. No, I’ll go.

She walked aft to the storage locker, opened the door and dodged as Amaroc’s foot lashed out at her. She stamped on it, bringing her full weight to bear. The Kresz’s other leg and arms were still bound.

Are you going to be quiet? she said.

He glared at her.

She used her arms to brace against the walls, lifted her other leg and kicked him hard across the feeder mandibles. His head rocked back, and she kicked it again on the rebound.

Your face is going to wear out before my boot does.

She stomped on his