Torl's Journey

Several days later, the call came from Farnle indicating that contact had been established with the Sharing system, and that they wanted to speak to the captain.

Torl and Seala made their way to the command center where Torl had Farnle reestablish contact. The Sharing system watch commander responded with a demand to speak to the ship’s captain.

“This is Captain Torl, we request permission to enter the Sharing system and proceed to Sharing Six. We have Seala daughter of Lia on board. I am Torl son of Teal and Rhea Firsts of Tali, and have made my way from Arth. We request asylum with the Free Colonial System.” There was a long delay before the watch commander replied.

“Under the terms of Lia’s resignation, Seala will be granted asylum, a transport will be sent to your ship to take her to her mother. We will require evidence to prove your claim of heritage, as you most likely know this heritage would grant you certain rights within our system, and therefore must be thoroughly proven if you are to be granted asylum. You will be allowed 5 days to present evidence of your claimed heritage to us for review.”

“That is unacceptable. I will personally deliver Seala to Lia. She will not depart this ship without me. I demand an immediate hearing with the council according to the rights granted me as a member of the Iial order of the Saal Monastery of Arth. Present an initiate to me and I will provide the appropriate evidence of my rank as Srin Master, First Order.”

There were gasps on both sides of the communications channel. Farnle, Jaselle and Irnla all recognized the magnitude of the claim, as apparently did the watch commander and others present with him. A new voice came over the communications channel, this one was female.

“I am an initiate, provide the required weaves.”

Torl received a mental image at the same time of a short muscular woman with dark skin and straight hair. He drew in a vast array of the power colors and projected the required weaves to the woman in his mind. He noted Seala watching with amazement as he wove the intricate patterns and joined the weaves to form even more intricate patterns. Several minutes later, he finished, feeling somewhat drained, but he also felt the inner calm the patterns always invoked. The female voice responded with great reverence.

“We are honored to admit you and your people Master; I am your servant I’lle, Initiate Third Order. Please proceed to Sharing Six where you will be greeted by members of the high council. I apologize for the delay and the necessity of proving yourself in this manner. Can we provide you with any other assistance master?”

“We have captain Relos onboard, he had a mind block and personality reprogramming at the hands of Sawtan. I broke the mind block, but he will need to be monitored and assisted if he is to have any hope of being restored to society. I assume you can arrange such accommodations?”

“I apologize master, but that will require approval of one of the council. Since you are not yet a member, I will present the request immediately and hope to have an answer by the time you reach the port on Sharing Six. If you wish, I will send you the requirements and materials for you to submit your claim to the monastery’s council chair?”

Torl had been afraid that part was true. Once when Torl complained about having to endure more training in politics and protocol than the other initiates, Master Senli had told him that the monastery had claim to a seat on the high council of the Free Colonial System, since none had ever claimed it, any Srin Master would have rights to it. He had also said Torl’s bloodline would grant him a valid claim to the high chair on the council. The combination of these two things could make him a political threat if he ever made his way there and he needed to be prepared to deal with that. Torl had hoped that the old master remembered things that were no longer true, but judging by the reactions now that he had arrived, and I’lle’s offer, it would appear that he would have to deal with these rights.

“Yes, please send that information, as well as the requirements and materials needed for submission of my claims as a direct descendant of the Firsts of Tali.”

“Certainly master, I will do so immediately. Please forgive my forwardness, master, but you will still have to prove the second claim.”

“I understand, send the information anyway. Initiate, watch commander, do you have any further requirements of my time?”

“No, Master Torl. Thank you, sir.” Was the watch commander’s response; clearly he wanted to avoid any possibility of further offending someone who had a claim to the council.

“No master, we can give your navigator the necessary information.” Was I’lle’s response; she too was anxious to avoid offending him.

“Initiate, I have one more request.”

“Yes, master, if I can I will provide what you request.”

“Seala and I would like to speak to Lia over a secure channel. Can you arrange this?”

“I will have to check, she is under house arrest for breaching security protocols. I am not certain if her resignation agreement allows such contact. I will relay your request immediately.”

“Thank you.”

“I am honored to serve master. If you need anything else, please have someone contact me or any on-duty initiate and we will immediately do all that we can to assist.”

Torl nodded to Farnle who tapped Jaselle to get her attention back on their duties, and they began discussing coordinates and frequencies with the Sharing system controller. Torl waited in silence until they had completed their discussions with the controller, and severed the communications channel. He had Jaselle open the in-ship communications channels and pipe the portion of his conversation with the initiate which involved identifying himself to the authorities on Sharing Six, to the whole ship so that all crew members and staff had the same information.

“Okay, I’m sure you all have questions. I had the conversation broadcast for you so that you would all have the same information. I will answer your questions as well as I can, but first you need to know that there most likely will be individuals in this system that see me as an imminent threat to their position and status based on the information I just revealed to them. I suspect that someone here already knew that I was coming, and what that might mean. Most likely the assassins were sent by someone here, rather than by those we left behind. It appears that our one hope of an ally here, Lia who is Seala’s mother, has gotten into some kind of trouble, so that aid is likely to be limited.

I had hoped to avoid entering into the political affairs here, but the unexpected resistance to our arrival forced my hand. I will do my best to secure places here for any of you who wish to stay, if you wish to return to the land of the witch hunters, I am certain that the locals here will require you to submit to implantation of false memories to prevent you from returning with our enemies, I apologize for exposing you to such a possibility.

Most of you were aware that Seala is a witch; you now know that I am one as well. I was sheltered and trained by the monks in the Saal Monastery of Arth, being merged into society just before they were purged. Since that time I have dreamed of reaching this goal. I honestly do not know what kind of greeting we will receive when we arrive at Sharing Six, but I strongly advise everyone to be very cautious. If you are skilled with weapons, contact Irnla or Url and they will issue you weapons so that you can defend the ship if needed. In this environment, it is possible they will decide to take the ship using the power, if that occurs weapons of this sort will be useless, but you can only prepare for that which you can oppose. If power is used in this manner, Seala and I will do our best to protect you. For the rest, you will have to be cautious and careful. Most likely those who view me as a threat will not bother you, but you should be careful.

I promised to turn this ship over to Farnle once we have safely arrived at Sharing Six. I intend to keep that promise, what he chooses to do with the ship from there will be up to him, but I believe he will need as many of you as he can get to remain with the ship at least until he can find replacements for those of you who wish to leave.

I know that is a lot of information to dump on you all at once, but I am sure you can understand why I did not share this before. Again, let me apologize for exposing you to this situation without giving you the opportunity to avoid it. I will now answer questions, in the interest of good order, please signal Jaselle if you have a question and wait until you are called upon to ask it. I will begin with those who are in the command center with me.

Seala, I’m afraid I did not tell you all that I was getting you into when you joined me on my journey. Do you have any questions that you wish to ask in public?

“Are you really the son of Rhea and Teal? Do you remember them?”

“Yes, I am really the son of Rhea and Teal. I was almost six years old when they left me with the monks, and I do remember them, but the memories are distant and from the perspective of a young child. I remember that Rhea was very beautiful and gentle in everything she did, and Teal was all muscle and firmly in command of the room whenever he was present. But mostly I remember that they were always loving and gentle when dealing with me or with each other. Anything else?”

“Are you going to leave me once we find my mother?”

“No, I’m afraid you are stuck with me for life. I don’t ever abandon friends.”

“I have more questions, but I can ask them later, let the others ask.”

“Okay, Farnle you have earned the right to be next. Any questions you wish to ask in public?”

“Yes sir. If the crew and I decide to stay, will you still give me the ship?”

“Yes.”

“Sir, do you intend to take the profits from the cargo, or do they go with the ship? I don’t have any real financial resources of my own, and cargo is not cheap.”

“The cargo belongs to the ship. I have other resources available to me and you and the crew have been very loyal. I cannot make any promises relative to how valuable the cargo is, but what there is belongs to you provided you pay the crew their agreed upon wages.”

“Sir, if you become a member of the high council, can you intercede for us to get us a prime cargo license?” It appeared that Captain Farnle wanted to become a legitimate trader, but would not mind a little insider help working around the system.

“I cannot promise to intercede, but I will endorse your claim if I become a member. It is important that everyone follows the rules. No one is above the law.”

“Thank you, the endorsement will be sufficient, sir. I can ask my other questions later.”

“Okay, Irnla?”

“Sir, will you be requiring security staff going forward? I would like to remain with you, and I believe Url would as well.”

“Unfortunately, I suspect I will be in need of security staff for the foreseeable future. I would be honored to have you remain with me. Url, do wish to stay as well, you would be welcome, but I understand if you wish to do something else?”

“Yes sir, I wish to stay with you. Thank you, sir.”

“Great any other questions Irnla?”

“None that cannot be asked later, sir. Thank you.”

“Url?”

“Sir, I’m sorry, I was very young when the purge took place, and was confused by much of what was said earlier, can you explain who your parents were, and why they make you a threat to people here?”

“That is a very good question Url, I’m sure you are not alone in your confusion. My father Teal was the third highest ranking member of the governing body of the Tali system which ruled the majority of the known universe. He was high commander of the Tali defense forces and charged with the defense of all the people of the realm. My mother Rhea was the second highest ranking member of the governing body of the Tali system answering only to Trali. She was the administrator of the government for the Tali system and through it, the rest of the realm. When Trali was killed early in the purge, my parents sent ships with people (many scholars and users of the power colors among them) and supplies to the most recently discovered solar systems which could be modified to support human life, then they destroyed all record of these systems so that the witch hunters would not be able to follow them. Before they sent them out though, they established a plan for the governance of these planets which would protect both their independence and the rights of the ruling party of the Tali system, by including provisions for the most senior surviving member of the ruling party of Tali or their descendants to be placed as the high seat of the council with veto and executive power over the government of the colonies. Since they already knew of the group of masters who were planning to start the monastery on Arth, they included a provision for that group to be members of the council as well, in the event they needed to flee to these solar systems for their safety at some time in the future. As their son, I obviously would be the highest ranking descendent of the ruling party of Tali since Trali’s entire family was wiped out early in the purge. Even if I could not prove that claim, the fact that I am among the last of the masters surviving from the monastery, gives me a claim to that seat on the council. I most likely will change the balance of political power if I press either claim. That is why I am a threat. Does that clear up the confusion?”

“Yes, sir, thank you. I will hold my other questions for later, thank you, sir.”

“Before we open the floor to the rest of the ship, Jaselle do you have any questions?”

“Yes, sir, this is likely a dumb question, but I don’t know anything about the abilities a witch has. Will those of us who are not witches be safe in a society where witches live freely? You spoke of scholars does that mean we can learn to be witches?”

“There is no dumb question except the one which remains unasked. Witches are human just like everyone else, they have different skills and talents, and there are both good and bad people who have these talents. Some of these talents can be learned, and some are encoded in the DNA. Everyone can learn enough to shield themselves and their thoughts from the things most witches can do. As to whether or not you will be safe, I would say that you are just as safe with those who are quote unquote witches as you would be with anyone else. If the pattern of government my parents established has been maintained, you will be safer in this society than you would be in the realm of the witch hunters, because there is no one who has the ability to name you evil and take what is yours from you. Also in the governmental model my parents established, education is free and educators are honored, rulers, even those with hereditary rights such as my own, are subject to the will of the people as all taxes must be approved by a popular vote of the people and must be re-approved every 10 years. Council salaries are likewise approved by popular vote and must be re-approved every 6 years. The government is not allowed to borrow credits, it can only spend that which is duly approved by popular vote and collected according to that approval. These checks and balances, allow the people to control their government and keep them in check. There was also a provision for setting up an anti-technology zone; an entire solar system at the center of what is now the Free Colonial System, where electronic and combustion based devices will not work. This system was intended to be a place where the old values could be lived once more. The farmer would be more valuable than the weapons maker, plows more valuable than tanks or airplanes or space ships.

Each planet would have one small port where technology would work to allow off planet trade to exist, but otherwise these planets would allow those who chose to isolate themselves from the distractions of technology and re-develop a harmony with nature. Did I answer your question sufficiently?”

“Yes sir, and then some. Are you ready to field questions from the rest of the crew and staff, sir?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Go ahead sick bay.”

“Sir, if we decide to stay, will we be able to bring our families here to stay with us?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that will be possible. Remember, the safety of this realm is that its location is not widely known. I spent many years trying to determine exactly where it was without luck, in the end it was Lia who provided that information, I wasn’t even close. I’m afraid the decision you make will be irrevocable as well, if you choose to stay, you will not be allowed to leave, if you choose to leave, your memories will be altered and you will not be able to find your way back.

“Sir, how ’bout us what ain’t so smart, can we learn this witch stuff?”

“These techniques are skills, but are no more complicated than learning to get out of the way when the cargo bay doors begin closing. Since you were capable of learning how to perform the tasks required of a star ship’s crew and staff, you are certainly capable of learning the basic techniques.”

“Sir, …….”

The questions went on for several hours, and Seala was amazed to see how patiently Torl answered each question. He never seemed to get upset, or impatient no matter how many times he was asked if a person could do this or that to make sure their friends or family knew they were okay. Some people just could not accept that to stay they had to cut all ties with those they knew before. But it appeared from the questions that they all wanted to stay. No one, it seemed, liked living in fear of the witch hunters who could just say you were a witch and then have you killed and take everything you owned, throwing aspersions on any who knew you and leaving your family homeless and without resources. Seala had to admit that she was excited about the possibilities offered by a society living by the rules Torl said had been established by his parents for this realm.

Eventually, the questions came to an end, and Torl gathered Seala, Url and Irnla and returned to the first officer’s quarters. Knowing now that Torl was a very important person, it seemed even stranger to Seala that he still refused to move into the captain’s quarters. He appeared to see that as the personal realm of Captain Relos, even though the man was a prisoner, and had been an evil pirate captain who was as mean as a human being could be.

It was late, and Torl was exhausted by the time they got back to the first officer’s quarters. Url had gone back to his quarters to get some rest before his watch started. Even Irnla seemed worn down by the events of the day.