Aablar the Neanderthal Ch. 12

'We are the Amazons, daughters of Artemis

Beautiful, strong, brave and true!

Our hearts are fixed on fair Atlantis

Her Olympian heights and her oceans blue.

With our might, our rule, our sway, our law,

Males and lesser beings, we overawe!'

As the procession from the airship approached the dais, Elizabetha called out, 'Dominesses, present arms!'

She drew her sword with a flourish and held it vertical, with the hilt an inch from her nose. Every dominess behind her did the same. The crowd loved the pomp and pageantry -- and they cheered lustily. Everyone seemed to have a favorite and there was much gesticulating and pointing. Those in the smaller crowd of relatives were particularly vociferous, looking for and in many cases seeing their loved ones. The mounted dominesses, however, betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

The Queen, a veteran of many such military reviews, raised both arms and called out, 'Welcome home, my daughters! We are pleased to see such a fine presentation.'

Elizabetha now called, 'At ease!' and the swords were sheathed with the same flourish with which they were drawn. She began her triumphal invocation.

'Your majesty,' she proclaimed in her melodious and carrying voice, 'No matter what dangers we face in the field, we always feel the shelter of your warm, maternal embrace, constantly guarding and protecting us. We salute you and present you the savage who has committed such vile crimes against our beloved sisters.'

Aablar was in front of Elizabetha's huge stallion, only about five yards from the dais. A gust of wind brought the strong smell of those on the dais to his sensitive nostrils and it immediately conjured up strong images from his infancy. As an infant, he had bonded with his mother and her smell was indelibly imprinted on his brain. Thousands of years of civilization had dulled this sensitivity among the Amazons, but for the Neanderthals it was a survival skill. Aablar became a bit restive and began to pull on his collar. Elizabetha glanced down at him -- the drugs had long since worn off, what was the matter with the savage?

Vanessa, clad in her formal diaphanous robes, and wearing the ancient Amazon crown, raised her scepter, stepped forward to edge of the steps on the dais and intoned,

'Colonel Elizabetha Warren, the Council of Peeresses has unanimously recommended to us that you be invested with ...' here she hesitated ever so slightly as her gaze, which she had purposely kept away from Aablar, accidentally strayed and caught a glimpse of his beaten and battered form. The pain of this sight almost caused her to lose her composure, but she steeled herself and prepared to continue.

Another gust of breeze and this time, he was sure -- it was the ash blonde Amazon with the crown. He glanced up at Elizabetha and saw that she was preoccupied with the Greca speech that meant nothing to him. He gathered his remaining strength and suddenly lunged forward, as he had on the airship. This time, it was Elizabetha who was not prepared and the lead was torn from her hand! Aablar reached the dais with two huge hops.

The entire assembly was paralyzed. Only Elizabetha reacted instantly. She drew a heavy bullwhip from her saddle-scabbard and the lash whistled through the air, flogging Aablar precisely, laying his back open from right shoulder to left hip. This pain made the blunt blows of the steel staffs feel mild by comparison -- he felt as though he had been cut in two. He screamed and fell forward on the two steps of the dais, his shackled arms reaching forward towards his mother. Elizabetha's stallion snorted and reared as she raised the bullwhip again. She had just begun her stroke, aiming to cut a giant X into his back, when Vanessa's commanding voice cut through the babble.

'STOP, Colonel!' She pointed her scepter at Elizabetha like a sword and her voice lashed out like the bullwhip. Elizabetha stopped her stroke and the lash of the whip hit the ground beside her. She patted her horse and whispered in his ear, calming him.

Aablar raised himself to one elbow and looked up into Vanessa's eyes. For the briefest of instants he saw the true depths of her love and then it was as though a steel curtain were drawn over her feelings. His back was bleeding freely now and he began to feel faint. With a Herculean effort, he managed to speak in a loud and carrying voice.

'O Queen of the Amazons, I acknowledge you as my Queen. I am your slave.' Then his rough and calloused hands grasped her ankles. Elizabetha instantly drew her laser pistol, but the Queen's scepter remained pointed at her, holding her in check. With incredible gentleness, he traced the contours of her delicate feet through her open thonged sandals. He fell forward on his chest and kissed her toes, one by one. Then he spoke again.

'Command me, your majesty,' he said loudly. Then in the lowest whisper, that she strained to hear and did not carry even to her handmaiden standing but four paces behind, 'Dearest mother, I love you. Do not grieve -- my death was written thus on the day I was born.'

Consciousness left him and his head fell on his arms, his fingers still touching Vanessa's toes. The queen swung around imperiously and her voice lashed out again, this time at one of the senior scholaresses from the hospital on the dais.

'Put together a medical team and transport this savage to the hospital! Immediately! He is in no condition to march in the Triumph.'

There was rising buzz of consternation from the crowd. For a savage to recognize and bow to the Queen of the Amazons! This had never happened before! Many of the commoners did not understand the savage tongue and myriad translations were done. The formal procession remained frozen in place while a medical team from the hospital put Aablar into a portable medical unit and loaded him into a speeder for transport. Elizabetha swiveled in her saddle and signaled to Melania Paulus and Amber Willey. They slipped out of the ranks and trotted after the medical speeder. As soon as they were through the crowd, they broke into a full gallop to reach the hospital and mount guard on the unpredictable savage.

The Queen now raised her arms again for calm. The buzz of conversation died away, as the packed assembly eagerly awaited her words.

'Colonel Elizabetha Warren,' the Queen began again, without the slightest tremor in her voice. 'On the recommendation of the Council of Peeresses, I am pleased to appoint you to the Order of the Purple Garter.' She held out her hand and her second handmaiden, Stacia Dragova placed the purple garter in it. Elizabetha swung down from her horse, ascended the two steps to the dais and dropped to one knee in front of the Queen, bending her head forward. The Queen bent and fastened the garter on Elizabetha's upper right thigh, just above her thigh boot.

'Arise, sister. You are in the noblest company of Amazon history.' Elizabetha rose. The Queen parted her robes and they rubbed nipples. She put her arm around Elizabetha's slender waist and turned to face the huge crowd behind the dais.

'I hope to see you all at the Temple of Artemis at noon for the Triumphal service,' she called out. Then to Elizabetha, privately, 'I will receive your Triumphal procession on the steps of the Chateau Reine, Colonel. Once again, my congratulations and thanks.' They rubbed nipples again and then Stacia escorted the Queen to her speeder. Elizabetha returned to her horse and mounted and called out, 'Company, form up! Single time, forward!'

The crowds now rushed to find the best spots on the main Olympian Way that led up to the Acropolis.

* * * * * * * * * *

3. The triumphal service was over and Mara and Leia had just had a quick meal in the Medica's quarters in the lower town. Leia sighed with contentment.

'Mara, that is the best meal I have ever eaten. You are too good to me.'

Mara laughed good-naturedly. It was not in her nature to be devious and she was taking a genuine liking to this wild thing.

'Come, Leia, you have much to learn. I will take you on a short tour of the City and then we will go to the hospital to give you a overall health check.'

'Oh, you need not do that,' Leia laughed. 'I am very healthy. The medicine woman in the Clan of the Stag always said I was never sick.'

'Oh, I think we know a bit more than the medicine woman,' Mara said, not pursuing the point.

Atlantic City was built on a ridge with its acropolis on a commanding peak. All around were thirty to forty foot high walls with wide ramparts, built hundreds of years previous during the first tenuous years of Amazon colonization. Even the 'lower' town was on a height and mountain slopes dropped away thousands of feet on all sides of the City. It was several miles from end to end, but only about half a mile across.

Mara took Leia to see the Holographic Historical Record, where she saw graphic holograms of women being beaten and bloodied by drunk and unkempt men.

'Those were the earliest times on Atlantis, our home planet,' Mara told her. 'The Dark Ages were the period of patriarchy when Men ruled. You can see the awful lot of our poor foremothers. See how the men fight and kill each other as they compete for dominance. The male does not know the meaning of cooperation.'

There were holograms of a women chained to fences and then others in official roles -- the Age of Transformation. Finally holograms depicted only women in positions of power and authority with men in subservient roles. But in contrast to the Dark Ages, the men were well treated and cared for. Finally, in holograms depicting Modern Times, men had disappeared.

From the Historical Record they proceeded to The Flight Memorial. Here they saw holograms of gallant scholaresses and dominesses laboring together to build and equip a huge spaceship. The account of the long space flight with its details of suspended animation made no sense to Leia's uneducated mind, though Mara tried to explain it as a kind of hibernation like bears in the winter. In the middle of the Memorial was a huge metallic cylinder, more than a hundred feet in diameter and hundreds of feet high. A low hum emanated from it. Large metallic tubes were attached to it on all sides and each tube fed into a low concrete blockhouse. Leia gazed at it in awe.

'Is this your God?' she asked in a small voice.

Mara laughed. 'You could call it that,' she said. 'This is the engine of the great spaceship that brought our foremothers to Eartha over five hundred winters ago. It provides us with almost all our power. From the huge power packs in our airships and factories to the tiny power packs in our wrist bracers and chokers, all of them are recharged by power from this great engine. Our foremothers on Atlantis built it and we scholaresses have been trying to understand how they did it for hundreds for years -- but we still don't know how it works. So I guess it is like our God!'

Mara now gently guided Leia into the street. She had used to comm. to call the hospital and a team was setting up in a medical unit to abort Leia's fetus. She had about half an hour to kill, so she took Leia to one of her favorite cafes. She ordered two mugs of coffee and some sweet rolls. Leia bit into them hungrily and was about to take a big gulp from her mug when Mara intervened.

'It's very hot,' she said. 'Blow on it and sip it.' She demonstrated. Leia mimicked her -- she was a quick study.

'Oh, Mara, I am so glad to see you,' the voice was breathless as it interrupted them.

Leia looked up to see a short, pleasantly plump woman with a round face and auburn curls. Mara obviously knew her and smiled, but without warmth.

'Caroline, how nice to see you,' she said coolly. She could hardly believe that this commoner had been her lover. But she was thinner then, she thought.

'May I join you?' she asked and drew up a chair and sat down without waiting for a response.

A waitress came by and she ordered coffee as well, but asked for a klava -- a

slightly alcoholic and very rich topping. When the waitress was gone, Caroline leaned over and embraced Mara, forcing her to rub nipples. She would have kissed her on the lips, but Mara averted her face gracefully and accepted a warm kiss on the side of her throat.

'I was so delighted to see you arrive on the 'Andromeda',' Caroline said excitedly. 'You were such a wonderful sight, all the dominess squads in their dazzling uniforms and you in your formal scholaress robes! I pointed you out to everyone. And they say that you attended on the Lady Katnissa, the Lady Althea and the Princess Charlotte herself!'

As Caroline prattled on, her coffee arrived and she began to sip it. Finally she noticed Leia, who was now antiseptically clean, fragrantly anointed and dressed in a tight halter top and panty-skirt borrowed from Mara. She leaned toward Mara and whispered in her ear, rudely and obviously.

'Is this the savage girl?'

The Greca meant nothing to Leia, but Caroline was so obvious that she knew that she was being talked about. She blushed and Mara's eyes grew grim.

'She is our rescued sister, yes,' she said tightly.

Caroline surveyed Leia briefly -- amongst the Amazon, her blonde beauty was not unusual. Her interest returned to what she considered most important -- herself.

'Mara, I am so pleased that you have such highly placed friends now. I need your help. You will not believe this, but the Beauty Board has rejected my appeal. They have signed an order deporting me to the Exile Citadel! I am barely thirty! I am just as pretty as the next girl. But you know that -- you will get Lady Katnissa or Princess Charlotte to intercede with the Board, won't you?'

Obsessed as they were with physical beauty, all Amazon were tested for weight and fitness every six months. Three consecutive failures led to forced early retirement and deportation to the Exile Citadel. Caroline had always struggled with her weight -- she had no self-control and constantly gorged herself on sweets and then starved herself. Even when she was Mara's lover, she had failed Beauty Tests. But she had managed to avoid failing three in a row. Obviously now her luck had run out. With her record of past failures, it was no surprise that her appeal had been turned down.

The pudgy face with its look of childish confidence disgusted Mara. It was even worse in contrast with Leia's sleek good looks.

'I am sorry Caroline, but you have had many, many warnings. You have been failing your Beauty Tests for years. With your record, there is nothing I can do.'

Caroline's face fell.

'But you must help me,' she cried piteously. 'I will die in the Exile Citadel. It is not my fault that I don't have classic Amazon beauty. Many girls think I am beautiful in my own way! You loved me yourself once!' Tears sprung from her eyes.

Mara hardened her heart. 'I am sorry Caroline, but you must leave us now. We have important business to attend to.'

Caroline began to snivel. 'I was good enough for you when I was young and nubile, but now I am not good enough for Doctor Mara, the great scholaress of Artemis!'

She downed her coffee and stood. She began wringing her hands and sobbing aloud. 'Oh, what will become of me? Mara, you are my last hope! How can you forsake me like this? I will do anything for you, anything! Anything that this savage bitch will do and more ...'

She carried on in this vein, leaving Mara nonplussed and Leia bemused. Another patroness of the café, a dominess in the uniform of the Susanna Regiment rose, came up and took Caroline by the arm.

'Is this woman bothering you, Doctor?' she asked solicitously.

'I am afraid so, Trooper,' Mara said, a note of regret in her voice.

The dominess's steely grip on Caroline's arm tightened.

'Please come with me, miss,' she said to Caroline with stiff politeness.

'No! No!' Caroline began to struggle, but the dominess was well muscled and powerful. Caroline was no match for her. She was swiftly propelled out of the café. The last Mara saw of her, the dominess had placed force field restraints on her arms and was pushing her into a speeder with Susanna Regiment markings. In the silence following her departure, Mara heaved a sigh of relief.

'What was all that about?' asked the unsuspecting Leia.

Mara explained briefly and economically. 'We'll go to the hospital for your physical examination now,' she concluded. They both drained their coffee. Leia greedily ate the crumbs of the sweet rolls, saying, 'These taste so, so good!'

She continued to chatter to Mara as they entered the hospital. Mara closed her ears and tried to not look guilty.

* * * * * * * * * *

4. The Triumphal Ball was in full swing. Every dominess and scholaress not on emergency duty was there and the huge ballroom of the Chateau Reine was crowded and abuzz. Beautifully robed and jeweled aristocrats and meritocrats, dressed to display gorgeous bodies, many with the latest fashions in bright body paints, traded gossip and looked for companionship. At one end of the ballroom, an orchestra played an intricate Hasspo ballet. At the other end, on a slightly raised dais was the Queen's throne and seating for her immediate court. The only commoners present were the myriad uniformed wait staff, pressed into service on temporary duty and all wearing the Queen's crest.

Elizabetha looked stunning in a long white diaphanous gown split open all the way down to a single clasp below her waist and white thong slippers with high stiletto heels. It was extremely rare for her to be out of uniform and unarmed, but Sophia had insisted that this was to be special evening and she had reluctantly acceded. However, she still retained her choker and wrist bracers. Sophia was on her arm and similarly attired in a sky-blue gown, but with a girlish choker of blue silk. She reached over and her fingers gently traced the outlines of the red shield painted around Elizabetha's belly button, as she kissed her ear and whispered in her ear, 'I have never been so happy, Elizabetha!'

Katnissa was gorgeous in a sea green gown that set off her eyes and red hair and high platform pumps. She had arrived on the arm of her mother, with the full entourage of handmaiden, aides and personal maidens. She was well aware that Fiona was using her as part of her election campaign, speaking to everyone about the 'danger of the savages' and her own personal anguish at her darling daughter's suffering -- that would have come to an even worse end but for the courage of the incomparable Elizabetha Warren.

Elizabetha was prevailed upon to take the stage with the orchestra and she launched into a rousing ballad, her melodious voice filling the huge hall. Soon hundreds of voices were joining her in the chorus and the orchestra played faster and faster. Fine clove wine flowed and the mood of the Amazon elite grew more and more elated.

Fiona was surrounded with well-wishers and her political allies, Katnissa forgotten for the moment. Seizing her opportunity, Katnissa slipped away out of one of the doorways onto one of the large balconies of the Chateau. As a royal, Katnissa had frequented the Chateau Reine since early girlhood and knew her way about. She shivered involuntarily at the chill of the evening in her thin evening gown, but hurried out of a side entrance to the palace. In just a few minutes, she was at her own house.

* * * * * * * * * *

5. Katnissa quickly dressed in combat uniform. She loaded equipment and supplies into her speeder quickly headed out of her garage. She did not put on any lights and the vehicle hissed along in silence in the black night. She drove slowly to avoid attracting any attention from the few commoners loitering in the streets. Still she covered the two miles to the hospital in less than five minutes. She parked in an alley behind the hulking hospital building.