On Another World Ch. 03

I heard a voice whisper. "Ah.... Yes, Master!" It sounded like Verella, but I wasn't sure.

I gazed at Verella and made up my mind. "So, you wish to become my wife? So be it. You can tell your uncle that I am agreed." And why not? I could do far worse. Honestly, I did not love her. I liked her a bit although I didn't really know her yet. I will 'cut through the crap' and say my decision was more political than anything else.

Again, I was enveloped in a group hug. All four seemed to be happy beyond words.

Receiving a nod from Verella, Tiq-qah got to her feet, ran to the door and went out. Apparently, public nudity was not that big of a deal here. A moment later, she returned to us. She bowed deeply to both Verella and I and said. "It is done."

Verella answered my unasked question before I could even open my mouth. "Word has been sent to my uncle that you have agreed to a marriage between us. The household staff is fetching Tiq-qah's belongings, my Husband and mine."

Now, as my 'official' fiancée, she no long needed to address me as Lord. I was now 'My Husband' and after the joining or wedding, I would be just 'Husband.' We would begin living together immediately and would not wait until after we were wed. Terranian customs are nothing like they were on Earth. Being Verella's property, Tiq-qah would join my household as well. I guessed that with the marriage, she would become mine too.

The 'Q-girls' and Tiq-qah got us to our feet and escorted Verella and me to my bedchamber. My fiancée and I were led to the bed. Qaj-jah then whispered softly to me. "This time, it must be only the two of you...alone." Then turned to leave with the others.

Then it was just Verella and myself. She laid me on my back and mounted me. We made love for a long time. When I came again, she cried out in pleasure. She then lay next to me as the girls came back into the room. "I believe that I might actually already be in love with you, my husband." She said contentedly.

I lay comfortably in bed, Verella curled up against my side murmuring softly, very near sleep. I could not make out what she was saying. The 'Q-girls' and Tiq-qah were now there in bed with us as well. All were looking to be deliriously happy.

Tiq-qah must have noticed my curiosity. "She is praying that thou may have given her a son, Master. Since the death of he who came before thee, to be wife and mother has been her sole desire." She smiled at me. "It is the deepest wish of every woman...to bear her man a son. Even we Qoo-jan wish to be mothers at some point in our lives. I have been informed Master, that thou art from far away and that thy native customs are not the same as ours." She smiled at me, then at Verella.

""You love her, don't you?" I said returning her smile.

"Yes Master, more than mine life. Even before we were bonded, I loved her. And I will come to love thee as well, Master. It is my deepest hope that...."

At that moment, I heard a soft 'phfit' sound and a tiny dart appeared in the side of Tiq-qah's neck. She looked surprised for a brief moment. She started to bring a hand up to the dart, and then slumped down onto the bed. Whether dead or unconscious, I did not know. Less than a second later, the sound repeated it three more times. The 'Q-girls' and Verella were all hit. I turned my head in the direction of the sounds. Four assassins were entering from the balcony. I threw back the covers and leapt out of bed, nearly blind with anger. My feet had no sooner touched the floor than one of them used what looked like a blowgun on me. A much larger dart struck me in the chest. I took another step and was getting ready to leap at them, when everything faded into blackness....

********************

I regained consciousness slowly. I felt very tired and weak. I lay quietly, not daring to move, not even to open my eyes. I heard a woman's voice. "My Lord, he should be dead, but he lives and will very soon recover fully. I am not able to tell thee how or why he has survived." The soft voice hesitated. "Is it true, my Lord? He is The One...is he not?" She asked, almost fearfully.

"Yes, he is...." Gilliam's voice answered. "How long before he will awaken? He asked.

"I do not know, my Lord." The woman said. "As I told thee, I cannot even tell thee why he is still alive."

The dart that had struck me was poisoned. I should be dead, but I wasn't. How I survived, I would probably never know. Then, I opened my eyes. "Gilliam?" I spoke. My voice was horse, my mouth dry.

Gilliam looked at me, appearing quite pleased. "M'lord, you are back!"

"What the hell happened?" I did not remember all that had happened.

"An attempt was made on your life, M'lord."

"What of the girls...Verella?"

"Gone...."

"Gone?" It was like a hammer blow to my heart. In a few short days, I had come to love the 'Q-girls'...I was even terribly fond of Verella and Tiq-qah as well. The thought of them dying was more than I could comprehend. A small part of me almost wished that I had died.

"They were taken. Kidnapped. We are not sure we know why. This is most unusual."

I breathed a silent sigh of relief. They were alive. I then and there decided that I would get them back, no matter the cost. I looked up at Gilliam. "How long was I out?"

"Three days, M'lord."

I looked Gilliam straight in the eye and spoke softly. "Assassins. I saw at least four of them." My memories of what happened were returning quickly.

"There were six. The watch managed to kill two of them before they escaped with the women. Eight of your personal guards are dead. The rest are being held for trial and will mostly likely be executed."

"No!" I very nearly bellowed at Gilliam. Bring me the captain of the guard...now!" He then relayed my order to a guard waiting near the door.

I looked about my bedchamber. There were at least a dozen soldiers in the room, all in black tunics bearing my crest over chain mail. Next to my bed stood three young Qoo-jans, two females and one male. They were dressed ready for combat. They too, wore my crest with bright red trimming. Sitting on the bed next to me was another Qoo-jah woman. She was small, even by Qoo-jan standards. And this one was noticeably older. Not yet at middle age, but certainly had a much more mature look about her. The sides of her head were shaved smooth. She wore her remaining hair in something like a Mohawk, which was still long enough to reach her waist. She also wore two large earrings that resembled suns. On the left side of her scalp was a tattoo of a nine-pointed blue-white star. She was dressed in the typical revealing outfit that was normal here. Topless with an extremely short wrap around skirt in a deep blood red. Her breasts sagged just a tiny bit with age, but looked very nice. I was never a man who prefer younger woman before. I still liked them young but closer to my own age.

Shit! I thought. I had just survived something that should have killed me. My women were taken, but was still thinking with the 'smaller head' as it were...with yet, another woman, no less!

She smiled at me. A very pleasing smile. "My name is Seq-qah, my Lord. I am thy personal physician. She looked at the other Qoo-jans. "They art thy new personal body guards, my Lord. Zog-gah, Zeq-qah and..." She indicated the females and then the male. "...Zeq-qoh."

I stared for a moment. Zeq-qah and Zeq-qoh looked like perfect male and female copies of one another. Gilliam bent close and spoke softly in English. "They are what you would call twins. Zoo-gah is their cousin. Although, on your home world she would be considered their half sister. They all have the same sire...or father." On Terrania, only those who share the same mother are considered siblings, regardless of who the father might be. Those who share a mother and father are the only ones considered true siblings. Those who have the same father, but different mothers are considered to be only cousins.

I was not pleased. "And what of Qij-jah and Qaj-jah? What of Verella and Tiq-qah?" I asked Gilliam impatiently. "Does anyone know where they are?"

"We are certain that they are still within the city, M'lord." Gilliam said, clearly as angry as I was over their kidnapping. "There is more, M'lord Dee-Ees. The assassins who took them are of a clan called the Tushüks who are also slavers. If we cannot stop them, Verella will be sold into slavery...the others will be sold to breeding farms."

The Tushüks are a nomadic people who can be found anywhere on this world. Physically, they resemble the Middle Eastern folks from my prior life.

"Breeding farms? No! I can not...will not allow that to happen."

"I agree, but we must proceed with caution. The Tushük Clan will kill them before willingly giving them up."

Further conversation would have to wait as the captain of the guard on the night of the attack was brought before me in chains. I rose out of my bed and found that I had been dressed in a black loose fitting gi. I approached the captain.

"Unchain him." I ordered Gilliam. To the captain, I said. "Tell me what happened." He gave me a brief account of the attack from his perspective. His report was short yet concise, leaving nothing out, including his arrest along with the other four survivors.

"Did you not post a guard on the balcony?"

"Yes, my Lord. He was the first killed...from behind."

"A dart, like the one used on me?" I asked.

"Yes, my Lord. He never knew what hit him." He hesitated and then continued. "My Lord, I have failed in my duty. May I ask why you wish to humiliate me further? I am ready to meet my fate."

"Be silent!" I snapped at him.

I turned to Gilliam, speaking to him in English. "Ya know, I've done a bit of research over the past few days. I recall reading that single assassins have gotten past twice that number in guards and were quite successful. The captain and his men faced six...Six!" The last word came out louder, than I had intended. "I am alive. So they were at least partially successful, were they not?"

Gilliam gave me a half smile. "I had hoped you would feel that way, M'lord. Even though you were injured and your women taken...I, myself was very much impressed with their performance. But the law is the law. However, they are your guards; their fate is in your hands."

I faced the captain. I switched back to Terranian. "Despite what you think, you have performed far better than anyone could have expected. I hereby promote you to major. The remaining members of your watch will also be promoted. You will be placed in charge of all my personal guards.

"As you wish, M'lord." He said uncertainly.

"How many men do you know of that have fought with an assassin and lived to tell of it?"

"None, M'lord." It was starting to dawn to him that he had indeed accomplished something few, if any others ever had. "But what of the others?" I some how knew he meant the women.

"I will get them back...you and your men will assist."

He stood at attention and placed his open right hand over his heart in a Terranian salute. "Yes, M'lord. It will be as you say, M'lord." His pride and self-respect was coming back.

You and your men report to me in two days. We shall begin planning...Dismissed."

"Aye, M'lord!" He saluted again and departed smartly.

He had no sooner departed than the door burst open again and still another Qoo-jan woman entered. This one though, was unlike any of the others I had seen. She was much older and dressed in a very conservative outfit. Long flowing robes, somewhat like Gilliam's but in purest white. Her face was lined and wrinkled and she appeared to be at least 70 by Earth reckoning. Yet, she was still an exceptionally lovely woman.

"Lot-tah...." Gilliam snapped. "...You were summoned quite some time ago...days. You are not usually in the habit of keeping me waiting."

"My apologies, M'lord Gilliam." She said in a soft but resonant voice. "It could not be helped. I was away." She turned to me a smile spreading across her wise face. "So...thou art he." It was not a question. She walked right up to me, placed a hand on my chest and her other on my cheek. She closed her eyes. Then they popped open and an eyebrow ached much like a certain Vulcan from an old television show I watch in my previous life. She turned to Gilliam. "Please clear the room, M'lord, but thou may remain.

A moment later only Gilliam, Lot-tah and I remained.

"Thou art not of this world, M'lord. She said. Again, it was not a question.

I looked at Gilliam...He nodded. "I am now, but not originally. I am from a planet called...."

"Earth...." She interrupted me. "Thou wert brought here by the Grey Ones to save our world." Lot-tah then walked over to the bed, placed her hands upon it and closed her eyes again. After what seemed to be a long while but wasn't really, she returned to me, the look on her face was not a happy one. "Three will return, one will perish. I cannot yet see which one."

She looked at me long and hard. "I see something else, though I am not yet sure what it is. All I know for sure is that thou wilt accomplish something no other man ever has on Terrania."

"You're a...."

"A seer, my Lord." She interrupted again. Who among those taken know of thy true origins?"

"Only Qij-jah and Qaj-jah.

"And the new ones? Thy physician and new body guards?"

I shook my head.

"Pick one of them and inform whichever one thou chooses. Thou shalt regret it if thou dost not."

"Very well. I will decide which later."

"Choose wisely, my Lord." She bowed deeply to me. "I am at thy service, M'lord." Then she turned and left the room without out another word.

All the others came back into the room. Seq-qah approached me and asked, indicating Zog-gah and Zeq-qah. "Which of the two shall I have share thy bed with thee this night...or would thee prefer both of them?" During my reading, I had learned that a man simply did not sleep alone here. Even if he is not sexually active with any woman, at least one will still share his bed.

"Suppose I might prefer you?" I asked. This was certainly not expected by any of them.

"They are much younger than I, my Lord." She said, very clearly shocked by my question. She seemed surprised that I might be interested in an older woman. That idea had not occurred to her or any of the others. I reckoned that by Terranian standards, she was considered to be well past her prime. At the same time, I could have sworn I detected a little hope in her voice. Even the younger women appeared to be surprised, though not offended, fortunately.

"Well, if you would rather not...." I took a long look, appraising Zog-gah and Zeq-qah.

"I did not say that, my Lord." Thinly disguised hope was very apparent in her voice now. "I would be happy to remain with thee this night...it thou art sure thou would wish me to." She sounded unsure, yet hopeful.

"You're my physician; I will let you decide who stays."

Though she and I were not bonded, I could still feel what she did. From her, I felt happiness and even a bit of sexual anticipation. She smiled knowingly. "I shall remain, my Lord." She turned to speak with Zog-gah and Zeq-qah. Then Zeq-qoh joined them. My new personal body guards...Zog-gah, Zeq-qah and Zeq-qoh. The 'Z's.' I thought of them. A thought suddenly occurred to me. I went to Gilliam.

"M'lord Gilliam. Would I be correct in assuming that that dart used on me should have killed me? And...no one outside this group knows that I still live?"

He smiled at me...a perfectly evil smile. "Ah! Again, M'lord, we are thinking alike.

"Let it leak out that I am near death and not expected to survive. Recall that new major. Summon the rest of his men. We have much to do this night."

Gilliam nodded and led me out of the room into another. Here, there were three large tables with a few comfortable chairs. The walls were covered with maps. The far wall was covered by one large one. A detailed color Terranian world map. I had entered a war room. I could think of nothing else to call it.

A moment later, my newly promoted major came up to me, saluted so smartly, any U. S. Marine would have been proud. "M'lord!" He said proudly and respectfully.

"What is your name, major?"

I am Kôjar, son of Sôkar, M'lord!"

"Very well, Major Kôjar, your first job is to select eight men to replace those who gave their lives tonight. Choose wisely. Many of us, maybe even all of us could die with what I am planning."

"I will choose only men who have fought many times in wars before, M'lord. I think that experience will be needed in what is to come." Kôjar said.

I nodded at the young man's wisdom.

Gilliam spoke. "We hope to have more information very soon, M'lord. There are many good sources at our disposal." The intelligence arm of the Terranian military was called the Silent Service. I chuckled inwardly wondering what they would have thought of submarines back on Earth. I learned soon however, that even though my new home was basically a medieval culture, the Silent Service made the CIA I remembered look like a Cub Scout troop for the blind.

Over the next couple hours, Gilliam and I planned. Agents from the Silent Service were sent out to look for clues. Our first bit of news was most disheartening. Verella and the girls were no longer in the city.

The Tushüks seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. I smiled a little. With haste, came mistakes. Then came our first bit of good news. A Tushük camp was located many leagues northwest of the city. That had to be where they were heading.

Our plans firmed up. We would begin our pursuit late, the next evening. We did not want to leave during the day. Too many curious folk about.

Later, when everyone had left, Seq-qah bathed and shaved me. Naked, we climbed into bed and settled in. She tried her best to entice me to 'sample' her body, but my worry over Verella and the others precluded that. I shook my head. "Not tonight, Seq-qah. I cannot get my mind off those taken from me. You are more than welcome to remain until they return, but I cannot promise any intimacy."

She nodded sadly. "I shall be here to serve thy pleasure or not as thou pleases, my Lord. For as long as thou may have the need, I shall serve in their stead."

I relaxed with Seq-qah's naked body curled up next to mine. While I knew she was disappointed that I initiated no sexual contact with her, she was still pleased just to be sleeping next to me. While I have to admit that I was tempted; my concern over Verella and the girls preoccupied my mind.

As I lay near to sleep, the room was suddenly filled with blinding light. After a few seconds, it faded away. In the center of the room was a small crate on which sat a smaller box. There was no Olygard to be seen. I rose slowly and approached the new additions to the room. On top of the box was a single sheet of what looked like paper. On the paper were these few words....

USE SPARINGLY. DO NOT LET ITS USE DRAW UNDUE ATTENTION TO YOURSELF.

The moment I read the words, the paper vanished instantly in a cold blue flame. I opened the small box and smiled.

A new looking Colt 1911 .45 caliber pistol rested within. This was more than a little surprising to me. I never expected the Olygard to go to such lengths in their involvement. I reasoned that I now possessed the only firearm on this entire world. Why? It didn't make sense. Thor had told me that interfering on the worlds of what they considered 'lesser beings' was strictly forbidden. There must be a reason. I thought. Perhaps Kahn has a modern weapon from Earth as well?

I looked in the box again. There were three ten round magazines for the pistol, all loaded with hollow point ammunition and there was a laser site too. I closed the box and checked the small crate. On top was a harness equipped with scabbards for my swords that included a holster for the .45 that would rest just under my right arm, my being left-handed. Under my left arm, I could keep the two spare magazines for the Colt. Beneath that, were many boxes of ammunition. I estimated that there were probably over 5,000 rounds. I reckoned that this would have to last a lifetime.