For the Throne - 4. Voices from the Past

Posh’s transport had once been a military freighter used to transport troops and supplies. Split into two distinct areas, the front of the ship held living quarters while the rear of the ship was a large open space with a drop down cargo door on one end. Opening the door from the pilot’s cabin, Posh walked down the passageway to the living quarters. Mara sat at the far end of the long table in the middle of the kitchen, the three Va’terran were seated all seated on one side.

“Did you find a room?” he asked, looking at Mara as he settled down at the other end of the table.

“Mara sleep with you,” she said.

“Uhm, no that isn’t going to work,” he said quickly, “you can take the room next to mine.”

“No Mara, protect you, Mara stay in your room.”

Posh ran his hand over his face. Although Outpost 20 was only five spans from where they were he didn’t want her sitting in his room while he tried to sleep.

Adar covered his mouth, but not before Posh saw the smirk he was trying to hide. The three Va’terran were still wearing their gold masks and cloaks.

“You know it’s rude to talk so others can understand you in front of them, right?” he said, taking a chance that they were gossiping to each other behind their hoods and strange golden face shields.

Both guards scowled and Adar laughed. “They say that if you were still wearing your mask you would know what we said.”

Posh shook his head. It was going to be a long trip.

“Do they have names?”

“Va’terran’s believe that their names are private and shouldn’t be spoken except for in the rarest of occasions.” Adar replied, the look on his face told Posh that he wasn’t happy with something his guards had said.

“Okay,” he said carefully. Why did this have to be so difficult? He turned to the two guards sitting across from Adar. “I’m not going to wear a mask. If you have something to say write it out on a comcorder or say it out loud, but you aren’t going to bully me into wearing one of your golden face shields all the time.”

“Why are you so opposed? What are you hiding?” replied the guard furthest from Posh.

“Hide?” Posh hissed, returning the guards glare. The information in his head was none of the Va’terran’s business and the audacity of the man sparked a wave of anger. But before he could respond, Adar spoke up.

“You will remember your place!” The guard crossed his arm over his chest and stared forward. Turning toward Posh, Adar continued, “My apologies Viscount, we are a suspicious people, especially when away from home.”

“I can’t deal with this right now,” Posh said flinching at his official title being used. When he pushed the chair away from the table and stood up, he noted that Mara stood up as well. Walking toward his sleeping quarters, he tried to push down his irritation at the Va’terrans. The guard was only doing his job and he didn’t feel he could blame individuals for their culture. Noticing that Mara had followed him to his suite, he resisted the urge to tell her to back off. “Not right now,” he said with his back to her. Opening his door, he quickly went in and shut it with her on the other side.

Lying on his bed, he pulled his pillow over his head, his thoughts swirling around. Where was his family? And why did the Va’terrans want to go to the one place in the five universes he didn’t want to?

The door slid open and Posh looked up to see Adar standing just inside the door. “I’m sorry for my guard’s rudeness,” he whispered.

“Already forgotten, I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

Adar moved further into his room and he nodded. “I promised earlier that I would answer questions once we were on the ship. Is there anything you would like to know?”

“Why Outpost 20?” Posh noted the pained look on Adar’s face. “Nevermind. Whatever, you’ve paid the passage.”

“We are going there to search through the wreckage of Mission Group 12,” Adar said, his voice barely audible even though he was only a short distance away.

A large lump quickly formed in Posh’s throat making it difficult for him to breath. “Why?” he hissed. “Why would you need to rummage through the debris of my dead husband’s ship?”

Adar removed his cloak, setting it on top of Posh’s dresser. His long auburn hair puffed around him ending in a braid that fell over his shoulder with the shorter side hairs curling around his face. Turning his back to him, he took off his golden mask and set it on top of the cloak. Posh watched as he visibly squared his shoulders before turning back around.

The resemblance to Jayden was shocking. Walking over to Adar, he resisted the urge to touch the other man’s face. There were slight differences. The eyes weren’t as green and they were bigger but the same shape as Jayden’s. He wondered why he hadn’t noticed that when the Va’terran’s mask was on. His flat cheekbones, pointed nose, and coloring were an exact match while his mouth and jaw line were slightly different.

“What? How?” Posh stammered. He’d assumed that Adar had kept his mask on for tradition’s sake, but now he wasn’t so sure. If Adar had been trying to postpone confronting Posh with his similarity to his spouse, it would mean that the Va’terran knew Jayden. Backing up, the back of his knees hit the edge of his bed and he sat down abruptly.

“Prince Jayden ne Lunar was my mirror brother.”

“Prince? Mirror Brother? I…” Posh gasped, feeling like he had been hit in the chest.

Adar continued, “We were born on the same day. Our father is King Or but we have different mothers.”

Posh could hear Adar talking, but the space around the red-head’s face was turning fuzzy and the room felt like it was spinning. Obviously his Jayden was the person that Adar was talking about, but how could his spouse have kept this from him. They had been married five years and he’d never let on that he was Va’terran much less a Prince. He could feel the ship shrinking around him, narrowing down to a single point.

The next thing Posh knew he was waking up on his bed with Adar sitting next to him. “Posh? Are you okay?”

“You need to explain, now!” he demanded. He could hear the panic in his own voice, so he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I think I’ll let Jayden explain for himself,” Adar said placing a small video crystal in his hand. “You’re going to have questions after you watch this. I will answer as many as I can for you.” Posh could hear the regret and grief in Adar’s voice. Glancing up, he watched as the Va’terran collected his things and left Posh to watch the video by himself.

Once he was alone, Posh looked at the vid crystal in his hand. He held the purple crystal between his fore finger and thumb trying to imagine what Jayden couldn’t tell him in person. Getting up from the bed, he put the video crystal in the player. Brief static made Posh wince as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

Posh gripped the blanket he was sitting on as an image of Jayden appeared projected from the vid player. By the looks of their bedroom in the background and the length of Jayden’s curly auburn hair, the recording had been made right before he’d left for Outpost 20. Even with the washed out tones of the video, his spouse’s emerald eyes shone brightly. When Jayden lifted his hand to brush his hair back from his forehead, Posh noticed the carved Jade wedding band on his finger. Fingering the matching Ebony one he’d received from Jayden, he let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

“So if you are watching this Posh then one of two things is going on. Either I’m sitting next to you and we’re having a big laugh or my mission to Outpost 20 went horribly wrong. If I’m sitting next to you, turn this off, it’ll only make you upset. If I’m dead, please don’t be angry and know that I loved you with my whole being. The happiest I have ever been was when I with you.”

Tears welled up in Posh’s eyes for the first time since hearing the news that Jayden was dead. “I love you too,” he whispered to the projection of his dead spouse.

“There are things I’ve wanted to share with you from the beginning. I know that you understand the weight of a crown and the burden of state, so I know you’ll respect why I haven’t told you everything. However, if I am gone there are things that you should know.” Jayden fingered his wedding band before visibly squaring his shoulders.

“I was born Prince Jayden ne Lunar of Va’terra, the seventh son of King Or. When I am done recording this I will be sending it to Prince Adar ne Sol, my mirror brother.”

“When my Father, King Or explained to me that I was to travel to Altera to work with the Duke and protect the royal family I had no idea that I would meet you. I wanted to tell you everything but because of the Imperial Alliance’s infiltration in Altera I could not. I couldn’t risk what would happen if you knew.”

Posh glared at the video through his tears. “It wasn’t for you to say!” he yelled as if Jayden would be able to hear him.

“I know you’re yelling at me saying that it wasn’t for me to say, but you’re wrong Posh. Your safety and well being took precedence over everything. Even if I hadn’t fallen in love with you, your safety was the priority.”

“Altera must not be allowed to fall to the Imperial Alliance. I know this seems like something that could never happen, but please listen.” Jayden continued, leaning forward. “The Imperials normally don’t take over the way they did on Tanger. Usually they are much subtler; they infiltrate the society using its own rules against it. As long as the Duchery exists this is not a probability, but should it fall…and the Imperials have already been courting the successors to the Alteran throne.”

Shaking his head, Posh said, “Why would the Imperial Alliance want Altera?”

"They want Altera because there are only two planets close enough to the Dead Zone to make strategic bases for the Imperial Airfleet, Altera and Outpost 20. Altera already has a developed Airfleet and Space Center,” Jayden said, answering the question he knew that Posh would ask just as he had when they were married. “Your planet’s resources and improvements make Altera the preferred take over and the Imperials know that if Altera joins them that Outpost 20 will follow without a fight because they will have lost the only ally that can come to their rescue in a time of need.”

Jayden lifted a black box onto the bed and stood beside it.

“In three days I will be leaving to join Mission Group 12. The Missionary part of the trip is real. The citizens need medicine and food. However, that is not the only reason I am making the trip.” Jayden lifted the strong box from their safe onto the desk in front of him. After opening the lid he held out a gold mask with a row of green stones across its forehead. “This is my crown, there is information in here that can only be acquired if you are wearing the mask and another royal from Va’terra creates a link. I wish I could tell you more, but there is no time.”

“Hopefully I’m sitting next to you and we are laughing at all of this now.” Jayden paused and looked at the screen in a way that made Posh feel like he was looking directly at him through space and time. “If not, don’t dwell Posh. I love you and I know you have probably secluded yourself away from those who would try and comfort you. I want,” Jayden paused and tears gleamed in his emerald eyes, “no, I need you to find happiness. Adar isn’t a bad guy. A little formal but be patient with him. I know it’s hard, because when I think of life without you I go crazy, but try. I love you.”

His chest felt so tight he could barely breathe. What was Jayden trying to tell him, was he supposed to pick up life with Adar or find another spouse? How could he even think of anyone else when he had loved and been loved by Jayden?

“I love you,” Posh whispered, his throat burning at the strain. An empty pain spread through him as the video screen clicked off. Folding in on himself, he wrapped his arms around his head. He struggled between the urge to scream or cry, not even realizing that screaming had won until the door to his room was flung open and Adar and Mara rushed inside.

Rushing forward Adar wrapped his arms around Posh and lowered the two of them to the floor in front of his bed. “Shh, let it out.” Adar’s voice sounded strained and Posh looked up to see that tears were streaming down his cheeks as well.

“I miss him so much,” Posh whispered with a strained voice. “Everyday…I think about him…I dream about him…the pain of him being gone…is unbearable,” he hiccupped through staggered breaths as he clung to Adar. Mara quietly left the room. With Adar holding him, sharing his grief, he allowed the waves of anguish to flow through him for the first time since his spouse had been taken.