Special Notes: Last Chapter, Only the prologue remains. [The Gunslingers, Book II, Chapter 26, Justice] [Justice] "What do you mean you knew?" shouted Colt. "I'm sorry, he made me promise not to say anything," Jack was trying to defend himself from his teams onslaught of anger. "You should have told us," Garth's eyes narrowed dangerously, you let me think he was dead." "We don't keep secrets from each other," Torin said softly, but Jack knew he was boiling under the surface. "I don't break oaths," Jack stood toe-to-toe with Garth glaring up at his angry team-mate. Weston Cain had surprised everyone by showing up with the Diplomatic Envoy alive and well, not only was he with the envoy, but apparently Wes had his own team and was the Justice of the Peace on Pyra. "What else aren't you telling us?" asked Colt. "He's a fish," replied Jack. "Huh?" "He drowned, they gave him fish lungs." "That's not possible," said Garth. "There haven’t been any successful cross-species organ transplants yet." "Has now," argued Jack, fluffing his wings up a bit and giving Garth a shove, which didn't budge the large Cormon even a bit. Garth put one finger on Jack's forehead and pushed back, Jack stumbled back a step under the vicious attack. Torin wanted to find the humor in Wes having had a lung transplant and having gills as a side-effect, but Torin was furious that Jack had kept Wes being alive a secret. And anyway, it didn't make Wes an amphibian, he might be able to extract oxygen from water, but his body was still a mammal and he wouldn't be able to remain underwater for too long. "I don't care," said Colt. "You had no right to keep that from us." "Yes he did," a familiar voice interrupted and Colt spun around to face Wes walking towards him. "Hello, Colt," said Wes. The team had been so intent on arguing with each other they hadn't seen Wes enter the room where they were waiting. Wes was accompanied by a small boy, a lanky human teenager, a Cormon teenager, about the same size as Garth and carrying a silver egg, and an older amphibian. "Wes!" Garth ran over and picked him up and bear hugged Wes until he begged mercy from the large Cormon. The others lost some of their anger at the sight of Wes and rushed over to hug and slap him on the back. Colt held back from the others and glared at Wes. Torin pulled Wes's collar back and looked at the gills, "So it's true, fish-boy," said Torin. "What happened to your eyes?" "Long story," said Wes. Colt looked at the badges on the team that was with Wes, "What's this?" "This is my team," said Wes. "You're on my team, you can't have your own team," said Colt. "Brother, I don't want to do this with you," said Wes. "Can we just catch up and enjoy the little time we have?" "I've heard that you are guarding a Raven egg," said Colt, his face turned red with anger. "Are you on their side now, what of your oath to me?" "Colt, stop it," said Torin. "No, I'll have him up on charges of treason," said Colt. Mother Raven had warned Wes something like this might happen, Colt was hurt and angry, he was a hot-head and Wes understood that now, why hadn't he seen it before, Colt was reckless and dangerous. Wes didn't want to do it this way but Colt was giving him no choice. Wes pulled the Gunslinger Deputy badge off his duster and held it out to Colt. "I died Colt," said Wes. "I'm no longer under an oath to you, and the Gunslinger Council has been arrested, Gunslinger Delph and the other adult Gunslingers are on their way here and will turn them over to Emperor Sionnach." "Who is Emperor Sionnach?" Colt slapped the badge out of Wes's hand. "I'll come back when you have calmed down, brother," said Wes. Wes saw Colt's hand move towards his gun to draw, he was far angrier than Wes had thought he would be. Wes spun and stepped to Colt's side and grabbed his wrist before the gun could even leave the holster. "How did you do that?" shouted Colt. "Calm down," shouted Wes. Colt lifted his leg and kicked Wes in the shin. Wes jumped back a step and Colt reached for his gun again but Garth was already there and grabbed Colt and held him. Wes pulled his fist back to strike and was grabbed by Thor and pulled off balance. Garth had nodded at Thor and a silent understanding shared between Cormon warriors passed between them. Thor then handed the egg to Nick and the two large Cormon boys had moved in together to separate their Gunslingers from a fight that could only end in one of their deaths. Thor dragged Wes back towards the door, Wes didn't struggle much, he hadn't wanted to fight Colt in the first place, but Colt was hurt that Wes had made Jack keep the secret he was still alive. Wes was angry too, but his time on Pyra, or in that other place, the dark place the Goddess had taken him to be punished had matured him enough not to surrender to his feelings. "Don't come back, traitor!" shouted Colt. *** "That brings us to sub-paragraph 43 of section 12," said Judge Cietan. "I'd like to go back and look at section 11." "I think we need to consider the Cormon treaty of 2179." "I'm not convinced section 10 is concurrent with Imperial law." "I don't see how we can agree to the trade concessions." Fox sat back and let his legal experts give this Judge the run around; the last three weeks had been constant bickering over every possible minor detail Fox's team could muster. "Gentleman, if we can focus on getting through the draft first, we can go back and address minor issues once the framework is complete," said the Judge. Fox closed his eyes for a moment enjoying the stall his people were putting up, he would lose much on this treaty but if he could frustrate the Judge enough, maybe he could reverse some of the damage Lord Cyness had caused. "Do you require a brief recess," asked the Judge interrupting Fox's thoughts. This Judge was demanding if anything, thought Fox, refocusing on the Judge. Fox had looked up Judge Cietan's history and was impressed with his credentials. Judge Cietan was the senior ruling Judge on a nine-panel court of one of the nine courts of Pyra. He was wealthy, influential, and there was some speculation that he could be a candidate for the Imperial Supreme Court. "Not a recess, but I am not quite seeing this as mediation so much as you are authoring a document that attempts to limit the Emperor's powers." "I believe the next section will account for the concessions you have agreed to so far." Judge Cietan was deftly side-stepping Fox's argument. "I have agreed to withdraw, agreed to monetary compensation for damages, agreed to recognize Cyness Minor as a Sovereign World and that no Imperial Warships will ever again enter the Cyness Solar System," Fox sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I have also agreed to recognize Lord Cyness as the rightful ruler and accord him the same privileges as any Imperial Lord within the Empire, but now this?" Fox picked up the draft of section 12 and tossed it across the table. "I understand your concern, and ensure you that all will make sense in its fairness," said the Judge. "You want a special court comprising of three non-Imperial princes, one of which is the Marshal General, whom I must point out is not a prince, and two others to be chosen at the time of convening by the Marshal General," said Fox. "Much of the situation that occurred here is due to the Marshal General not having the rank to enforce Imperial Law," argued Judge Cietan. "The Lords and Princes of the Empire can not be permitted to continue to act outside the law." "And being that the Emperor is also a prince..." Fox left off not saying the obvious; he could be tried by this court the Judge was proposing. "That is true, the Emperor must not be held above the law nor any of the Great Lords of the Empire," said Judge Cietan. "If this court had been in place two-hundred years ago, your father could have declared the usurper that now sits on the throne an outlaw and the Wolf rebellion may have had a far different outcome." "He does not sit on the throne any longer," said Fox. "I secretly imprisoned him twelve years ago; House Wolf is no longer a concern." "That is not exactly accurate, everyone except Emperor Sionnach leave this room now," ordered Mother Raven. Fox had watched a steady stream of messengers coming and going in a flurry of dispatches that Mother Raven read, jotted a note down, and sent back to where ever she had set up her command center. Fox hadn't been entirely displeased to see Mother Raven's arrival with the Envoy, for all practical purposes she was the ruling Lady of Darai and a neutral party. Darai didn't exactly have one lead ruling House; their hierarchical system of government had so many layers that it made the feudal system of the Kitsune look like children playing at government. But, she was likely the wealthiest and most powerful woman on Darai, and though she had a reputation for being brutally ruthless, she had held together the Houses of Darai with very little war for nearly a hundred years. Mother Raven was all about profit and Fox agreed she would mediate fairly enough to maintain and ensure profitability of all the worlds of the Empire that Darai relied on for their vast shipping Empire. "Clear the room," ordered Fox. *** "Did you hear about what happened between Colt and Weston?" asked Duke stomping his feet in the snow to warm up. "I know, they are both stubborn pig headed fools," said Cora. "I tried to talk with Colt but he just walked away and said Wes is a traitor." "What's taking so long to write the treaty?" asked Duke. "I didn't think I would have to spend another winter in these mountains." "At least some of the Cadets have gotten to see their parents," said Cora. "I heard the rest of the adult Gunslingers should be arriving in a couple days." “The cargo ship with the Council prisoners should arrive tonight,” said Duke. "And some won't get to see their parents," said Cora sadly. "Any idea what they are going to do with the survivor from Houston's team." "I'm going to take him," said Duke. "I'll miss Gideon," said Cora. "Me too, he was a good First Deputy and my best friend," said Duke. "What of the Camp 18 survivors?" asked Cora. "Some of them asked to go home and the Marshal agreed," said Duke. "The others are being reassigned to fill out teams that lost members." "We paid a heavy price for our freedom," said Cora. "Yes, but now we can be the Order we were intended to be and not someone's secret private army to manipulate," said Duke. "They are calling us heroes," said Cora. "We aren't, we were just coming to help Colt," said Duke. "How could we have known we were fighting a revolution?" Cora leaned against Duke. "Nothing will ever be the same again." *** "Hey Tyler, come over here a minute," called Tanner. "What's up, Boss?" asked Tyler. "You're fired," said Tanner. "Huh, what did I do?" asked Tyler concerned. Rocco, the old gritty salt miner was leaning up against a Sand Crawler watching and grinning like an old buzzard. Tyler kind of thought if Rocco had been Daraian he would have been Lord Buzzard, or something, though there was no House Buzzard on Darai, but maybe later Tyler would mention the idea. "I've been talking with the Marshal, they are getting close to finalizing the treaty," explained Tanner. "Okay, but why am I fired?" asked Tyler. "I wanted to send you to the Gunslinger Academy, but that isn't going to work out," said Tanner. "The Gunslingers and the Kitsune are leaving our solar system forever and we will have to see to our own defense from now on." "Not following, Boss," said Tyler. "We are getting a very large settlement from the Kitsune," said Tanner. "Colt wants to use it to rebuild the city and..." Tanner grinned. "He wants an Academy of Space and Aeronautics built, it will be a Para-military academy and we are going to open it to the brightest young scientific and military minds in the galaxy." "That sounds awesome, but still not getting what that has to do with me getting fired," said Tyler. "I got an old buddy that jumped at the chance to help us build this academy and put our world on the map," said Rocco walking over to stand next to Tanner. "Lord Falcon of Darai has agreed to bring House Falcon to Cyness." "Wow, that's really great, I won't be the only Daraian anymore," Tyler grinned happily. "Maybe they will bring some Daraian girls? But first... umm... back to me getting fired?" said Tyler. "You are going to be the Academy's first student," said Tanner. "Really? I love the idea of going to a flight school, of course," said Tyler. "But Boss, you don't have to fire me." "When you graduate, you will be taking the post as Cyness Minors first Lord General of the Cynessians military reserve," explained Rocco. "You've proven you are the man for the job, we would all be dead if not for your brilliant mind." Tyler's jaw dropped open and he stuttered, "But I'm not a Lord?" "Tyler, kneel..." ordered Tanner. Tyler tried fighting the tears in his eyes and knelt in the middle of the Cynessian Salt Desert and was raised to the rank of Lord General. But it wasn't the title that was making Tyler weep, he was weeping because he had redeemed himself in both his eyes and the people of Cyness for the loss of his Gunslinger two years ago on the Long Walk. He wasn't just a cast off anymore dumped on Tanner because he had nowhere else to go, no... he had a real home now, one that he had fought and bled for and would defend for the rest of his life. *** The two Daraians slept under a blanket in the cold cabin, one of the few student cabins that had survived on this side of the mountain. Orange feathers poked out from under one side of the blanket and ruffled slightly as Jack slept. Ceri'Ari slept next to Jack, content now that the egg she carried contained a living being. They knew what they had done would land them both in prison if anyone found out. A Lord Gunslinger and a Deputy was a forbidden love, not to mention that a Hawk and a Sparrow was a taboo mating. Ceri would have to return to Darai soon before anyone knew she was carrying an egg. Jack had loved Ceri from the moment she handed him the flask of water during his Longest Walk. He knew it would be difficult to find moments for them to be together, and they would have to find someone to care for the egg while both of them were away tending their duties with the Gunslingers. The two slept contently for this moment they had stolen, unaware of the small baby raven that sat in the rafters waiting and watching. His life would be lonely and hard for many years, he knew this, but the prophecy was clear, it had to be a Hawk and a Sparrow. They would never know, and neither would he once the decision was made, until his mate found him. He thought about the consequences of what he was about to do, if they knew... would they agree to it? Most likely they would, but he could leave them be and search for another, then they would enjoy a long and happy life stealing moments together when they could. But, if he chose them, they would both die within three years. They would be the sacrifice required. "Mother, I do not know if I can do this," chirped the raven. The shadows in the cabin swirled and formed and then the Raven Goddess was standing over the two sleeping figures. She looked at them with a sadness that betrayed her deadly appearance. The Goddess looked up at the baby raven in the rafters. "Two lives returned, two must be given," said the Goddess. "You have done this without my blessing, but it is not too late for you, you may still return to the land of the ancestors, but, one life is already here, which of these two shall I take in payment?" The baby raven fluttered down from the ceiling and landed softly on the blanket and looked up at the Goddess. "Promise me you will take them both at the same time so that they may walk into the land of the ancestors together," chirped the raven. "I will promise to take them together," said the Goddess. "It isn't fair that they should never know who they gave themselves for," chirped the Raven. "I sense a moment of defiance coming," said the Goddess. "Go ahead, get it over with." The baby raven spread his wings and as he melted into a shadow he screeched his defiance and then was gone. Jack sat up and looked around; he could not see the Goddess watching him fondly. "I heard something," said Jack. "It was just a dream," muttered Ceri. "Come back to sleep." Jack lay back down and closed his eyes, "What do you want to name him?" asked Jack. "Are you so certain it's a boy?" said Ceri opening her eyes. "I don't know... yes... I'm certain," said Jack. Ceri smiled, "Then I think we should name him, Cody." Jack slept and dreamed of a great eagle flying high above the mountains. *** "I am going to explain why you are going to stop this bickering and sign that treaty as Judge Cietan has written it," said Mother Raven standing and pushing a piece of paper across the table to Fox. "Have you ever seen one of these before?" "Is that the Raven Intelligence Brief?" asked Fox. "Yes, you have never seen one because you are a foolish Fox," said Mother Raven. "All your games have now become your undoing, and that treaty is the only thing that may save you." Fox picked the Brief up and glanced at it, his blood turned to ice, "Is this correct?" "Yes, the Wolf Emperor escaped three days ago and has taken the entire Kitsune fleet to Demonia," said Mother Raven. "He intends to commit genocide against the Demonian people." Fox understood the ramifications immediately, he had imprisoned the Emperor, but hadn't sat on the Throne and let it be known he was the true Emperor; he had chosen to remain hidden and called himself the Voice of the Emperor. Now with the Emperor free, he would be forced to support the Emperor's war against Demonia. "I can see in your eyes that you understand," said Mother Raven. "Billions of Demonians will die, the Empire will rebel, and in the end the Emperor will be killed, or take his own life, I can not foresee his exact end. But you, Voice of the Emperor, General of the Kitsune Fleets, you will be arrested and dragged to Demonia in chains." Fox dropped the Brief and sat back hard in his chair. All of his plans for two-hundred years were coming unraveled. "I know who you are, son of Lord Raven, exiled Emperor that he hid in the Temple to protect you," said Mother Raven. "You are a Raven, dear boy, and I will save you." "How?" Fox barely whispered the word. "The court in this treaty Judge Cietan is creating is the court that will judge you," said Mother Raven. "The new Marshal General will vote you innocent, I will ensure that, the second Prince on the court will be Prince Vengeance of Demonia, he will vote you innocent as well. Do not ask me why, that is my concern. The third Prince will be Jon Black, and he will vote you innocent as well." "Jon Black?" said Fox. "I raised him, but he is not a Prince." "Foolish Fox, all your time with the Carinians and you never really learned their language," said Mother Raven. "Jon means Prince in the Carinian language." Fox signed the treaty without further argument. *** The Cadets and the adult Gunslingers stood in formation at attention while the Marshal General gave awards for heroism and valor to different Cadets for their performance during the war. The ceremony was well deserved for those receiving medals, but it wasn't what everyone was waiting for. The new Marshal General was about to be chosen. "I have given much thought to the selection of the new Marshal General," said Marshal. "I was only fourteen years old when I became the Marshal General, and I have decided that it is best to maintain that tradition to choose from our youngest to ensure the longest continuity of service. I will choose the next Marshal General from the Cadets." Nearly every adult Gunslinger was surprised at that and all turned to look at the Gunslinger Cadets, each father silently hoping it would be his son or daughter. Duke, Cora, Colt, and West stood next to each other in the front row. "Is it going to be one of us?" whispered Cora. "I'll bet it's Duke," whispered West. "No, it's going to be Colt," whispered Duke. "If it's me, I don't care what the treaty says, I'm not moving the Camps from Cyness," said Colt. The Marshal General stepped down from the stage with the podium and was followed by Emperor Sionnach. The two men walked towards the four Gunslinger Cadets in the front row, then past them into the ranks of the Deputy Cadets. The Marshal stopped in front of Weston Cain and silently removed his Marshals badge and pinned it on Wes's duster. "Kneel," ordered Marshal. Wes didn't protest, it all made sense now. The last year being trained by the Judge and Mother Raven had been his trials. He had proven himself worthy by recruiting and training the young men there to become Lawmen. He had built an academy from nothing and shown he would be capable of becoming the Marshal General the Gunslinger Order needed. Wes went down on one knee and bent his head. "I, Lord Marshal do raise you, Weston Cain, to the station of Lord Gunslinger Marshal General, with all the responsibilities and privileges of that rank," said Marshal. "Remain kneeling." Wes looked up at Marshal confused. Remain kneeling? That wasn't how the ceremony went. Marshal stepped aside and the Emperor moved in front of Wes and drew a sword and laid it on Wes's shoulder. "I Emperor Sionnach, true Emperor of the Glorious Kitsune Empire, Light of a thousand stars, Prince of the Moons of Kitsune, do raise you, Lord Gunslinger Marshal General Cain, to the rank of Prince Justice. Now rise, Prince Justice, and never again kneel to any man, not even the Emperor. You serve only one Master, and that is Justice."