Chapter 11: The Azloc Queen’s Demand

As they walked to dinner two weeks later Jason noticed an increased level of activity in the palace, many people passed him in the passages, looked at him briefly, then averted their gaze. There were several people in uniform that Jason had not met when they sat down at the table. Queen Afumati spoke up as soon as they settled.

“The Azloc Queen, second in command to the supreme queen has made a strange request. I will ask General Asterius Magnus and his associate General Feraldus Ardavan to explain.

“Jason we can be a stuffy and formal people, but I try to use first names except on ceremonial occasions.

“Asterius please go ahead and explain the sequence of events.”

“We face unprecedented events. Jason when you first arrived here you were broadcasting powerfully on our telepathic channel. The doctors tell me they have never seen it previously. Your signal was so powerful we sensed it in the adjacent solar system.”

“General what was the content of Jason’s broadcast?” Ooryphyon asked.

“There was no content, it was more like a beacon than a communication,” said Feraldus. “We use similar signals on other bands for our location buoys.”

“Why is this the first we have heard of it?” The Queen asked. She frowned and glared at Feraldus.

“We didn’t mention it and the doctors didn’t mention it because it was of no great import to any of us. We simply saw it as part of the illness. The signal was stronger than any that we previously encountered but we knew he was a powerful Emperor. Most lose all telepathic ability while sick, the Emperor did the opposite. The doctors told us he is of a different species and we don’t know if others of his species do the same when sick. They have no previous experience with his people.”

Feraldus shrugged and looked at the queen.

She also shrugged and waved at Feraldus to continue.

“A supreme queen rules the Azloc. All her queens are her daughters and they help her rule. The queens are ranked by their individual power. The Azloc supreme queen is a powerful individual and they follow her without question. The senior queen rules absolutely.

“One of the newer queens in the second rank has been seeking a powerful king. She frequently visits Azloc planets to find a suitable candidate. The aim of every queen is to produce queens capable of becoming a supreme queen. When the supreme queen becomes aged, she is replaced by the next most powerful queen. Each queen produces workers and teachers and a variety of other specialists and an occasional king or queen. We know this queen well. She is powerful and determined. She has conquered many civilizations on behalf of her mother. She is as close to second-in-command as it is possible to be despite her relative youth. She has been searching for a king for hundreds of years,” Feraldus explained.

“Lisossa, is this the queen you know and described to me?” Jason asked.

“Yes, Jason, she is the second in command and the next most powerful queen after her mother.”

“The Azloc never associate with other races,” said Asterius. “The only friendship we know of is between the Azloc queen and Lisossa. They rule other races, but they do not tolerate any of them on their own planets. She has made an unusual and unprecedented request.

“She informs us she picked up the powerful telepathic signal that went out from Jason. She believes you might be her king and and she wishes to evaluate you, Jason. I assured her, you are not Azloc and you are not compatible with her. I told and you are a related species of ours. Communication with her is very difficult, but she has been clear, almost eloquent, by Azloc standards. Jason, she wishes to take you to her planet to assess you. If you are suitable you will become her king and she says she will follow you, rather than expect you to remain with her and her mother. If you’re not suitable she will return you. She is insistent she will take you away with her. She is not interested in coming to visit you here, she wants to take you away with her and she says she will not harm you. We told her you are not well and suggested she waits until you are better. She has also told us she will not wait. She brought a formidable fleet into our solar system,” added Asterius.