Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire by J. W. Murison Read Free Book Online Page A

on Earth will I do with it?’
    General Rannalld laughed aloud, ‘You
live in it. When you are on planet of course. This is your home
now. You will receive Gairloch’s pension until you pass away.’
    ‘ You mean like his
widow?’
    ‘ Yes.’
    ‘ But we were not.’
Her face took on a pained expression.
    He laughed again, ‘No one thinks you
were, woman. Gairloch never married. I remember he told me that one
day he would find a woman worthy of our bloodline. When he did he
would marry her.’ The giant sighed, ‘He never did. I think he was
married to the fleet. Then in one of his final messages he changed
his will. No one was more surprised than we were. Leaving
everything he had to an unknown alien woman he hadn’t even married?
But he had finally found a woman he deemed worthy of our great
blood line’
    ‘ Would I be able to
request that the Emperor takes it back?’
    ‘ You could, but why
would you wish to do that?’
    ‘ I do not deserve
this. I did nothing to deserve this honour.’
    ‘ You must have done
something?’
    She shook her head, ‘Nothing I can
think of.’ It was very hot and Mya flicked her hair round the back
of her head to the other side. Rannalld found himself mesmerized by
the action.
    ‘ We did no more than
talk.’
    ‘ What did you talk
about?’
    ‘ Everything. My home,
his home. Our family. He talked a lot about the planets he had
visited, and sometimes the battles he fought in.’
    ‘ Were you not bored?
Gairloch could be very long winded.’
    ‘ I loved listening to
him. He was very good at describing things.’ Her head canted to a
slight angle, ‘He had to be good. Before I was abducted I had never
left my home island. We had no electricity. We worked in the fields
and collected fruit from the jungle to survive. We thought the
stars were the souls of our ancestors. I had no idea they were suns
like ours or that people lived on planets around them. I could not
read or write until I joined the crew.’
    Rannalld stared in wonder at her for a
moment then shook himself. ‘Let us enter.’
    Mya shook her head, ‘Please, I don’t
want to.’
    He reached down and gave her a gentle
push, ‘Don’t be frightened. I will contact the Emperor and convey
your misgivings. It may take a while and it is cooler inside.’
    ‘ I am sorry, of
course.’
    He guided her through to the living
room. Rannalld ordered refreshments, but Mya only asked for water.
She sat on the edge of an enormous couch and looked around the huge
room. It was much cooler inside. The room was spartan, almost
bereft of furniture apart from the large seats. The central wall
was obviously some form of viewing screen. A small table was
produced from somewhere and a huge glass of water placed in front
of Mya.
    ‘ Thank you.’ Mya had
to use both hands to lift it and the servant stared in horror at
the contrast.
    Her eyes sought out the only decorative
piece in the room. A large statue of the Emperor. ‘Is that the
statue you all dropped when you were drunk?’
    Rannalld who had also been staring
turned his head and suddenly burst out laughing. ‘That is the
replacement.’
    ‘ Yes of course. You
all glued it back together and made a mess of it. In panic you
decided to simply order another from the sculptor.’
    Rannalld was still laughing at the
memory, ‘It was Gairloch’s house warming. Would you like to see the
original?’
    ‘ You still have
it?’
    ‘ It is hidden in the
cellar. Come.’
     
    Mya followed him down. The cellar was
well stocked and almost full. Behind the many wine racks, hidden
under a dust cover, stood the statue. Rannalld whipped it off with
a flourish and the two of them howled with laughter at the sight.
In the end it had turned into a competition to see who could make
the statue of their elder brother more hideous.
    ‘ I swear if he ever
saw this we would all be exiled.’
    ‘ Gairloch said he
never had the heart to get rid of it. Anytime he felt a bit down he
came down here, took