Chapter 11: Malmoru

Deep in the bowels of Quarva, Meeze reached a rock chamber, no outsider had seen since the Mara had left so long ago,

There was very little light, the faint lumination that came from dim glowing mushrooms did little to reveal more than vague shadows.

Meeze had little need for light, his species was well adapted to dark places and lightless crevices. There in the darkness, something big lingered, then moved and shifted.

A malleable, mass oozing with stringy goo shifted its position and a voice in the ancient language of the Genolax spoke to Wheeze.

“A child of the Genolax, you are, yet you are not of the Quarvax. What seekest you?”

To someone unfamiliar with the old language, the question sounded just like a hissing sound. To Meeze, of course, it was perfectly understandable.

“Meeze comez from ze crubilez. Meeze wanz zo finz ze bigz Magolax anz ze Vikarz, loz of zem.”

“The Crucible and all the children of Genolax has been destroyed.”

“Pffz, zey saiz yuz ze big and smarz onz. How canz I be herez if weze all deaz? Meeze helpz make the Cruzible go boomz. Allz my familiz nowz Unionz.” Meeze lifted his upper body and looked quite proud.”Meeze iz Unionz Fleez specializt, youze helpz meeze or noz?”

“You were part of those who destroyed the Crucible. The ones that liberated the warrior drones here and been friendly to the Quarvax?”

Meeze spread his thin arms.”Yez, yez whize you repeaz thaz?”

“All the Quarvax still speak of visitors that took the warrior drones.”

With audible pride Wheeze said.”Theze are meeze frienz. The vistorz arez Unionz. Are weeze talkiz all ze timez, Meeze in ze hurryz!”

“I sense great pride and purpose in you and you tell me, the Genolax are now the pepino slaves of a new species?

“Nooz, I telze you weeze are membrez and equalz noz ze slavez.”

“Wonder over wonder. A species that considers Genolax equals, we will not seek their destruction then, You shall have the Magolax and ten thousand Vikarz. I send message and they will come, to what purpose?”

“Ze Togarz takez my frienz anz the stoopiz admrialz wilz not declarz ze war. The Vikarz are noz Unionz zey canz declarez the warz!”

“That was surprisingly easy,” I said as our transport had landed on a spaceport right on the Togar main planet.

Cherubim got up.”This was only the first part.” She pointed at an armed flier with official-looking markings. “I decided to let you play your game, but there are elements to this where you might benefit from my expertise.”

“I never questioned your expertise, General. I just think that your priorities do not include Jolaj.”

She sighed.”I hope you will understand one day, that the safety and life of one person are not as important as the safety of our Union as a whole.”

I snapped back.”And I hope I will never develop such callousness. Our Union will defend its weakest, smallest member with the combined might of all. This is our mantra and our philosophy, this is my philosophy. Yes, I must send members of my crew into danger. I am told that a CO must be prepared to sacrifice everyone and the ship if needed. It might surprise you, but I am indeed prepared to do just. It will however always be the very last option. I have long decided to do whatever it takes to keep my crew, each and everyone as safe as possible and I will never accept defeat or give up on any of them.”

She changed the subject.”Let them come aboard and let me deal with them.” After a slight pause, she added.”I am on your side, please.”

Six Togar guards led by a female officer came aboard and went straight to the small command center. Togar did not use the term bridge.

The female guard made a gesture of honor and greeted Cherubim who of course still wore her disguise.

“Contessa Syniaj of Chalura is it?”

“Indeed, and this is my daughter Hanaj.”

“I had to consult the system, I must confess. I never heard of Chalura, but of course, now I have.”

“And what is this about? I have been to Togr many times, never had the Queen’s guard found it necessary to collect the landing fee directly.”

“Your planet is truly very distant and in a region of space I did not even know was still considered empire. This is why I think you may not know about the escaped criminal, the pretender claiming to be the White Fur. This is why we must search every ship.”

“Be my guest, this ship has no room for stowaways, not that there were any visitors to Chalura lately that could be the source of such a stowaway.”

The guard woman laughed the guttural Togar way.”No, we are quite certain the traitor did not run or escape in that direction. It is just orders and routine.”

Cherubim produced a pack of vacuum sealed bacon and handed it to the guard woman. “We came to see the confirmation of the queen and do some business afterward.”

“Malmoru be praised! There hasn’t been any bacon on the market lately, with all the Union troubles.”

“Union? Aren’t they part of the Big Four. We are much more concerned about Oghr affairs in our parts. I think that is where the Oghr get the bacon we buy.”

The guard Togress blinked with her yellow eyes.”That makes sense, of course, learning where Chalura is. I make sure your ship is well guarded.”

She then pressed her paw on the PDD she held. “You cleared customs and inspection of course.”

Moments later the guards left.

Roghor grunted.”That’s why we are doomed, no Union border guard could be bought with a pack of food. Here we are on the Crown World, and they didn’t even check our identities.”

Cherubim slipped into a richly embroidered overcoat that matched her luxurious golden outfit.”Don’t sell your society short like that. It is very hard for spies to really get a foothold here because this is a one species society. The Togar are quite resistant to suggestive psionics and can easily smell if you are not a genuine Togar.”

Rog had to agree.”But you two smell very genuine and the Captain smells like she is on the brink of...” He stopped in midsentence.

“I don’t smell anything and I am on the brink of what?”

Cherubim laughed.”Roghor, no other society can rely on the Shaill. Our mollusk friends added scent nodules to these costumes that could fool the Brugho cats of the Silkla.”

“What are you guys talking about? I stink in some fashion?”

Roghor explained.”Captain, we Togar rely as much on scents and sounds as you humans do on visual appearances. Our sense of smell is much more sensitive than that of a human. We only mate when the female emits a very distinct scent. A fine Togar nose can tell that you are about to enter that three-week phase.”

“I am what?”

Cherubim laughed.”Almost in heat.”

“That is a rotten thing to do. Make me smell horny and all that.”

“Don’t look at me, Erica. Your costume came from Deepa and it is even more perfect than mine. Your ears and tail language is perfect.”

I promised myself to ask Deepa about that and also got up. Rog handed me a short black leather jacket and while I put it on, I asked. “So, where are we exactly and how do we get to that Grotha place?”

Rog pointed to a mountain range in the South. “These are the Kreighu mountains, meaning we are north of Hi Togr, the capital city. This part is called the Brugho district. As the General mentioned, the traditional region of a Togar subspecies with a legendary sense of smell. We are almost a thousand standard klicks from Grotha, which is an island in the Ocean to the West.”

He held out a pair of long leather gloves for me to put on.”There are flier and boat services that take approved visitors to the island.”

The gloves had open fingertips, apparently for the retractable claws.”Approved?”

“Security is always tight, because of the Queen being there, but I imagine it will be even tighter now as they want to prevent our snowball to get there.”

Cherubim said.”You need to be on a list to be able to go to the island. Do you see now how difficult it is? Doing things by ear rather than careful planning is not always the best approach.”

“We’ll see about that, maybe I just swim there!”

The masked Togar dragged Jolaj along a windowless corridor. There were bodies everywhere, some wore official guard uniforms, others the same dark leather-like suits and masks just as the ones that dragged her along.

From the other direction, she could hear yells, shots, and screams. There was intense fighting going on. Neither one of the male Togar had spoken much or identified the entity they represented.

They weren’t very gentle either.

Especially the one she had kicked treated her quite rough.

When they came to an intersection, she realized they were already in Malmoru’s temple on the Grotha island. When she was little she had been lost down here, this was technically not the old temple she had been born in, but there were tunnels and passageways that connected all the temples with the central temple mound.

Legend and religious believe claimed that this island was the very place where the Togar discovered fire and where the cat goddess Basu fought with the evil bird Horku. It was here where Malmoru the Lightray spirit descended from the heavens on a golden bolt of light. Where he gave the Kranji his seventy-one commands of light and righteousness and where he mated with Kranji.

This blessed union between the spirit of light and a beautiful Togress produced Anomj, the first Innocent Fur. She became the mother queen and the first ruler over all Togar.

Togar history started from this event and was commemorated every annual rotation, with this sacred event of confirming the ruler. Back then there were kings and queens.

This all changed when Yarriour, the First supposedly gave him a daughter. This daughter named Yara according to ancient art-work had human features, except for the head and face which were Togar. She introduced a new goddess, by the name of Lehloran, the mother spirit.

Togar religion was reformed and many spirits were added, but Malmoru always remained the central and most worshipped of all spirits.

The very spot where his ray of light touched the ground became the sacred pool of light, and a fine column of smoke curled from this pit ever since.

All this flashed through her mind, as these legends and stories were part of her daily instructions as far back as she could remember.

Needle sharp spikes suddenly shot up from the floor and pierced both Togar with gory swiftness, but no spike appeared for her.

Her captors could not even scream, death was so fast and so sudden.

Before she even realized what happened three temple priestesses in full regalia appeared from a previously hidden wall door.

Jolaj recognized the leading female. It was the black pelted high priestess of the mother spirit herself.

“The mindless servants have received their just payment.” The priestess laughed triumphantly. “They have succeeded and delivered you into my hands!”

Jolaj lost all hope that she would somehow survive this, yet her voice was full of defiance.”You can kill me, but I am no longer alone. My captain will come and make you pay.”

“Oh be silent, stupid little girl, no one will come for you. We are on Togr, whatever false hopes you have are as stupid, as you are silly. You are a tool, a pawn nothing more.

The Union will blame the Queen for your demise, I will offer her to them. They are appeased and all that is Togar has a new queen that is also the High Priestess.”

The black-furred Togress gave her companions a sign to grab Jolaj. “Don’t worry, it is the queen who will personally toss you in the light pool.”

The priestess that took hold of her left arm cackled.”There is no holy secret in that old hole, just bubbling acid, heated by volcanic thermics. You won’t last a minute and all that beautiful soft fur of yours dissolved with the rest of you.”

The one to the right said. “You die before the eyes of billions. That silly white fur spook will end right there and then. The High priestess validated, revealing herself as the leader of the rebels blaming the old queen.”

The black priestess kept on laughing.”I guess the prophecy comes true after all. The poor white fur sent to defeat Darkness, but white dies and black reigns supreme.”

The old priestess was petrified with fear and sheer awe.

Malmoru had come and he had stepped from his pedestal. His voice was indeed that of a god, as it resonated not only in her ears but filled her mind with an overwhelming presence. “Where is Jamalj? Where is my daughter?”

The old priestess finally managed to move and she dropped to her knees and burrowed her face between her hands.”Malmoru...”

The god spirit howled in anger as he looked into the old Togress mind.”They tortured Jamalj to death?”

Alarmed by the loud booming voice, a priestess of the mother spirit and six temple guards rushed in and stopped in their tracks as they saw the eight feet tall magnificent male Togar cat surrounded by a halo of brilliant white light.

The priestess of the mother spirit gasped.”She spoke the truth...”

She and the six guards rose into the air.

Malmoru boomed.”Oh, what filth has permutated my people!”

“Have mercy, we didn’t know gods exist. I will worship you.”

The six guards and the priestess died, as tendrils of pure light snaked around their necks and strangled them.

Malmoru paused, raised his head and bellowed. “The Dark One is here, but he is not yet fully restored.”

We managed to hire a flier, what an offer of hundred coins Iridium of another Togar could not accomplish, a vac pack of bacon did. The flier operator told us, that there wasn’t a boat or flier left. This was more than just another confirmation, he told us. This was the day of the White Fur’s twenty-third anniversary. This was the day she was to supposedly appear before the pool of light and be verified by the spirits themselves.

There were still skeptical voices among the Togar, convinced that religious prophecies never came true. Yet, the word on the street was, that the Innocent White had returned to Togr, despite being hunted as a traitor and impostor by the queen herself.

We made good progress. I could already see the island, the many temples of Togar architecture and the truly alien temple mound bathed in golden light.

The mound seemed to be a structure, a temple that had been carved right out of a mountain. Or maybe it was indeed that big of a building.

The air was filled with thousands of fliers but none of them made any progress and now our flier slowed down and stopped hovering in mid-air.

I cursed and demanded to know why we weren’t getting any closer.

The pilot raised his hands.”Apologies I offer. The queens’ guards have just issued a no approach command, they warned everyone and threatened with lethal force.”

He raised a big view screen.”It was just announced the White Fur is here indeed and the ceremony is about to start. You can watch it here.”

I pointed at the pilot and said.”Commander, make sure he stays put and reports to no one.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Cherubim with alarm in her voice said.”We came just a few moments too late ... Hey, what are you doing?”

“There is still a chance. I go ahead, try to follow as soon as they let you in.”

With these words, I jumped over the chest high sides.”Tyron, fins.”

I hit the water head first and like a spear went past the waves.

The water wasn’t really cold and I opened my gills, the water tasted less salty than the oceans of Nilfeheim, but was perfectly breathable.

My reckless jump from a flyer hovering about fifteen meters above the ocean surface was actually quite stupid and almost killed me. The ocean was quite shallow and really just about deep enough for me not to collide with the sandy bottom.

Tyron said into my ear.”I can propel you faster than fins.”

“Can they detect it, or hear it?”

“Togar tech is even more primitive than general Union tech. I can cloak us, too.”

“Go!”

Har-Hi unconsciously took the same at the edge of the seat position as the captain sometimes did when she was agitated or worried. The Tigershark looked like a Togar trader, they opted not to fully cloak. Even the advanced cloak could not mask the matter mass shock, any object created when dropping out of Quasi. Har-Hi didn’t want to risk a Togar alert reporting an invisible phenomenon.

They had assumed a parking orbit around Togr, just another ship of hundreds that did the same. There were orbital platforms, artificial satellites, and stations. Surprisingly no one paid any attention to them.

Shea and Elfi had already put on Togar costumes, Har-Hi sighed and pulled the warm bioflex mask of a red pelted Togar over his own head and waited a few seconds until the living tissue had bonded with the rest of the costume.

Lieutenant Senhadjii being on the bridge, also wore a Togar costume said. “We must limit our exposure to real Togar as much as possible. The costumes are visually perfect, but none of you know how to body act like a real Togar, and while I am sure I can be convincing in that regard. I don’t think our costumes have the right smell.

Suss, the Cat shook her head.”Whatever the Togar expect to smell, I have no idea but you guys smell like fresh bioflex masks, various perfumes, and human scent.”

Narth said.”You can smell all this from back there?”

She nodded and Ak Fective said.”Attikan noses are just as sensitive. I can identify everyone of this crew by smell alone.”