Three Square Meals Ch. 094

"The Maliri are on their way! We have ten days to marshal our forces before they arrive," she exclaimed, reinvigorated with a new sense of purpose.

He looked shocked then delighted. "Not that I doubt your word, Niskera, but how do you know?" he asked curiously, still finding it hard to believe that the Maliri had left their territory after so many years.

She tapped her temple and gave him an enigmatic smile. "Alyssa just informed me; the Terran girl is gifted with Telepathy."

"How remarkable," he murmured, slowly shaking his head in amazement.

There was a rumble through the shuttle and they both felt the heavy pull of gravity as retro-thrusters flared to slow the ship's descent. A few seconds later the shuttle trembled as it touched down on the planet's surface.

Rising from her chair, Niskera drew up her robe's hood to conceal her glowing features and tucked her hands into the folds of the garment. She followed Thandrun down the ramp from the shuttle, with the legionnaires assuming a protective formation around her.

"Vamred, how wonderful to see you!" Thandrun boomed, his deep voice echoing across the landing platform.

Niskera glanced under the low hood of her robe and saw the Senator approaching in a hurry, his grey face drawn in panic. "You're too late!" he gasped. "Senator Barumdrolin raised a motion to begin the election of a new Chancellor this morning! The Senate is planning to hold a vote on it as we speak!"

"We better get to the Senate chamber then!" the Fleet Warden thundered, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Lead the way, Vamred!"

Vamred stared at him incredulously for a moment, then turned and walked briskly towards the runed entranceway to the citadel beyond. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Niskera, frowning in obvious confusion at her hooded appearance. "I'm very relieved to see you again, Chancellor. I tried my best to delay the Senate, but I'm sure you know how obstinate Senator Barumdrolin can be!"

"Do not worry, Senator Vamred," she replied, her smooth voice calming his fears. "All will be well in just a few minutes. Your loyal service to the Republic will not be forgotten."

Vamred stumbled a step, eyes widening as her melodic voice sent shivers up his spine. "Niskera?! What's going on, Thandrun?"

Thandrun steered his friend onwards and boomed, "No time to waste with questions, Vamred. We need to interrupt that vote, remember?"

The confused Senator marched onwards, darting curious glances back over his shoulder as the Fleet Warden kept him moving. "Yes, we have to stop them annulling her Chancellorship..." he murmured, trying to catch a glimpse of Niskera under her cowl, seeing a curious amber glow where there should have been shadows.

Three of the huge legionnaires responded to a glance from Thandrun, lengthening their pace, then neatly interposing themselves in front of the Chancellor, blocking Vamred's view. Niskera silently thanked the Fleet Warden as she marched with her cohort of soldiers towards the Great Spire, where the Senate would be in attendance.

The gigantic runed doors were sealed as they approached, but a wave of Thandrun's armoured hand had the legionnaires on guard rushing to open them. The group filed through into the massive auditorium, with row upon row of circular plinths occupied by the Senators representing the various worlds within the Trankaran Republic.

Senator Barumdrolin and Senator Dhunarlum were standing in the middle of the central disc, with Dhunarlum in the middle of an impassioned speech to his bored audience. Never the most captivating of speakers, he was struggling to hold the attention of the Senate and there was a quiet background rumble as the hundreds of Senators spoke in gravelly whispers to their colleagues. The noise increased in volume as Niskera marched out of the centre of her phalanx of soldiers, with Thandrun hovering protectively beside her as she strode into the centre of the vast room.

"There is no need for this motion!" Thandrun boomed, his commanding voice echoing around the chamber. "As you can see, Chancellor Niskera is here, safe and well!"

Rounding on the intruders, Senator Barumdrolin frowned in disapproval. "You are too late, Niskera. The Senate has already agreed with the proposal. You are no longer Chancellor of the Republic and we are now putting forth speeches to champion our candidacy for the role."

Senator Dhunarlum looked smug as he gave her a polite incline of his head. "You are welcome to put forth your own proposal for why you would be best suited for the position. However, I'm sure you must be fatigued after putting yourself in such jeopardy with the Kirrix. Perhaps a nice rest would be preferable?"

The two senators shared a glance, with Barumdrolin allowing himself a half-smile at his fellow Senator's sly retort. The rumbling from the rest of the Senators intensified as they discussed the dramatic reappearance of their deposed Chancellor.

Niskera took a moment to compose herself, but found she was already eager and willing to challenge these two interlopers. Standing straight and tall, she said, "You have my thanks, Senator Dhunarlum, I shall take you up on your offer to make a speech."

Their shocked expressions when they heard her mellifluous voice was nothing compared to the consternation when she threw back her hood. Senator Dhunarlum's eyes grew so wide, they looked like they would roll out of his head, and Senator Barumdrolin crashed to his knees, a look of awe on his slab-like features.

There were shocked gasps from the Senators, as all eyes were riveted to Niskera and the pulsing orange swirls about her head. She unclasped her outer robe and shrugged it from her shoulders, revealing the sleeveless dress she wore underneath. All about her, murmurs of "The Glowing Queen!" could be heard rebounding within the chamber.

Raising her arms up high, Niskera slowly turned, leaving them in no doubt about the transformation she had undergone. Light poured off her glowing body, shining an amber radiance across the shocked faces of the Senators. Now there was deathly silence in the Senate as over two-hundred senators gaped at her in wonder.

"Noble Senators," she called out in her rich melodic voice, as she lowered her arms. "I bring tragic news; the Great Maker is forever lost to us, never to return... But fear not, for it is time to rejoice! His kin, the Great Protector, has returned in his stead and blessed me as his herald!"

She paused to allow the spine-tingling effect of her new voice to work its magic on the Senate, turning slowly again to mesmerise her audience with her glowing eyes.

"He is eager to see the Trankaran Republic restored to the glories of our past and has offered us an honoured place in an alliance with the Ashanath and the Maliri! He wishes to see us delivered from the terrible threat the Kirrix pose and a fleet of the Favoured Ones is on its way to ensure our salvation. Yes! The Maliri were the Great Maker's servants those long millennia ago, as were the Ashanath, and as were we!"

There was a shocked murmur amongst her audience, the stunned senators gaping at one another as she unleashed one incredible revelation after another.

"I propose that we mobilise the Republic to a full war footing! We must prepare ourselves for the return of the Favoured Ones, to prove to them that we are strong allies and worthy of standing proudly at their side!" She paused for a moment and her voice lowered a few octaves as she continued sorrowfully, "Or at least I would, but I am no longer your Chancellor, or even a Senator, and am in no position to make such a suggestion..."

Senator Vamred shook off his shock and stepped forward to kneel before her. His voice was full of emotion as he said earnestly, "The rebels were misled and united behind a false Queen! Truly Niskera, you were meant to lead us as the Glowing Queen of the Trankarans!"

Thandrun knelt at his side and thundered, "All hail Queen Niskera!"

All around the auditorium the sound of Senators crashing to their knees built to a deafening crescendo, as did the deep voices booming their agreement. "Hail Queen Niskera!"

Niskera turned, looking around the enormous room and nodding as she saw that to a rock-brother, every senator had knelt to pledge allegiance to her. Raising her hands to silence the senators chanting her name, she said solemnly, "I feel deeply honoured that you would allow me this opportunity to serve you as your Queen. The road ahead of us is a long and hard one, but when our course is done, we will stand with our heads held high at the Great Protector's side. Not as servants as we once were to the Great Maker, but as good friends and loyal allies!"

"Can it really be true?" Senator Dhunarlum murmured, looking up at her in wonder as he knelt on the platform. "You would raise us up to be friends and allies with a god?!"

"It is true," she replied with a beatific smile. "For the Great Protector wishes it to be so. He is kind and benevolent, seeking only to protect our people from the darkness which threatens us."

Turning to look at the audience, she raised her arms again. "Rise my friends, for we have a great deal of work to do. I propose full amnesty for the rebels, as we shall need every rock-brother to stand shoulder and shoulder with us for the coming conflict! I also bring gifts of technology from the Great Protector himself and we must ensure that the star forges are in full operation once again, building mighty ships the like of which have never been seen before!"

Her glowing eyes narrowed and this time when she spoke, there was a harder edge to Niskera's voice that the Senators had never heard before. "The enemies of the Trankarans shall rue the day that they invaded our worlds!"

The roaring ovation she received made the very stones of the Great Spire tremble to the sounds of their adulation. Niskera smiled in relief at the Senators, feeling the heavy weight of fear and dread she'd been carrying for months finally lift off her shoulders. The Trankarans were truly united once more, for the first time in over nine millennia.

*Congratulations, Niskera,* Alyssa said softly. *Long live the Queen...*