*****AUDIO FILE***** "Chapter 47 - Forgotten Secrets - Audio File" [The White Raven, Chapter 47, Forgotten Secrets] [Air-Sea Rescue Command, Eagle Province, Planet Darai] “Seabird, this is Storm Wing Rescue One, we have visual, two in the water, three still on deck but the vessel is listing hard port, it won’t last much longer, we’re deploying divers.” “Rescue One, Seabird, we’re five minutes out.” Raen and Clap sat in the Air-Sea Rescue Command Headquarters listening to the rescue efforts. ASR Command was really nothing more than a wooden Com-shack on the beach, a landing platform for the two rescue Darts, and a dock for the Seabird. The HECRC Seabird, House Eagle Coastal Rescue Cutter, at 87 foot bow to stern, 19 foot at the beam, and two diesel engines, was the most powerful ship on the Darai seas. Seabird and Storm Wing Rescue One was about fifty miles off-shore rescuing a fishing crew that had gotten hit by a rogue wave. Storm Wing Rescue Two was out over the desert searching for some lost hikers. The rest of the Storm Wings were based at the airport, but their Dart configurations were for Province defense. “We’re going to need that bigger ship,” says Clap. “The Senate will vote next week,” replies Raen. “If we get Commonwealth funding the Sparrows are ready to start construction.” “I still think we should buy that used rescue ship from the Carinians,” says Clap. “I’m not made of money,” replies Raen. Clap didn’t bother to reply, they both knew that wasn’t true, Raen was just being modest. Raen’s ability to make money was legendary, and probably his truest talent. The Grackle Talk Shows compared Raen to Lord Selae Sparrow, the financial magnate that had propelled House Sparrow to the galactic shipping empire it was today. The eagle wing design was the hottest selling item on Darai, but that would only make House Eagle a Great House on Darai. Clap suspected Raen had a secret plan to propel them to Major House status. Vas had noticed it first and they had all talked about it when Raen wasn’t around. Raen was equipping all the ships and guiding the training of the Eagles to the one industry that didn’t exist anywhere in the galaxy - Search and Rescue. If that was what Raen was doing, Clap thought Raen was even more of a genius then anyone knew. He wouldn’t have to build any facilities, the Falcons already had airports and seaports on every world. Raen would only have to buy ships and aircraft, and then rent some space at the Falcon facilities. “Are the Carinian divers with them?” asks Raen. “Yes, one Black Guard trainer with each of our divers,” replies Clap. “At least Admiral Ryota is cooperative,” says Raen. “But we only get to keep the trainers for another six months, make the best use of them.” “I’ve got non-stop diving classes scheduled,” says Clap. Raen gets up and walks to a window. “I was meaning to ask, what’s that new building?” “You didn’t know?” asks Clap. “Lord Struthio opened a surf shop.” Raen laughs. “He never mentioned it.” “Stop being so stubborn and let Moeth’s Ravens give you an intelligence brief every morning and you would have.” “I don’t want us to become assassins,” says Raen. “Maybe you’re a Hawk, but the rest of us are Ravens,” says Clap. “No, the cycle of violence and retribution ends here,” insists Raen. “One day I’ll have to turn this House over to Lord Eagle, and I won’t give him something I’m ashamed of.” “A bit hypocritical, considering you’re the one that assassinated Lady Swan and Calistian,” says Clap holding his hands out away from his Talon Dagger as Raen spun around angrily. “You did what was necessary, and they won’t be the last persons you assassinate, stop pretending you won’t, at least with us. Every time you do something distasteful to protect the House, you prove to us you’re still the leader we chose to follow.” Raen shook from anger and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him. Clap was right, he would kill again if necessary, and that made him even more angry. He would never be free of the Raven inside him, and the others would never stop being Ravens. A group of the Storm Wings were standing around chatting and saw Raen coming. One look at his face and they all decided they had somewhere else to be and scattered. The Storm Wings had no fantasy about the dark nature of the Eagle’s ruling family, but it didn’t really bother them. Empires weren’t built by gentle soft spoken rulers, they were built by people like Raen, Moeth, Vas, Clap, and the others. The truest dark heart of the entire bunch was the Doctor, she was psychotic. None of the Storm Wings ever went to see the Doctor for anything, not after what they had witnessed shortly after arriving. The Doctor and that twisted mate of hers had joined them on a mission to chase some bandits away that had been bothering the remote farm settlements. The Storm Wings swore an oath among themselves never to speak of what they had seen the Doctor do to the bandits. Raen climbed the steps carved into the cliff side. A Demonian stonemason had spent two years carving an elaborate set of stairs down to the beach, it was a true work of art. The stairs had become one of Eagle Provinces primary tourist attractions. Carved into the walls were winged lizards, hundreds of times larger than any real lizard, and horned lava-beasts, flocks of eagles in flight, and many more incredible creatures. And the carvings weren’t even complete yet - the stonemason worked at a feverish pace every morning. Raen suspected the stonemason was re-creating some of the lost art of Demonia. The sun was low on the horizon, but it still seemed darker on the stairs then it should have been. The air had a chill and Raen’s skin tingled as if he were standing in a lightening storm. Raen glanced up and laid his hand on his Talon Dagger, a figure was standing on one of the switch-back landings. He climbed a few more stairs and thought at first it might be Constable Grant, but a few more steps and he realized who it was. “Lord Black,” Raen greeted the original Gunslinger. “Lord Raen, go back down the stairs. I cannot take you to Demonia, my father will not allow it, but there is one that can take you there. You must convince Emperor Sionnach to come here to Darai, he must remember what he has forgotten,” orders Jon Black - and it was an order, Raen had no doubt of that, the Gunslinger had a command presence that could not be denied. Raen turned around and headed back down the stairs, though he was unsure why. If he needed to go to Kitsune and see the Emperor, the ships were the other way. The stairs grew darker until he could barely see the walls of the cliffs next to him, and then a dim light appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He approached cautiously and the light grew slightly, but not by much. Raen stepped off the last stair and… …where the beach should have been was a very large room. Raen was standing in a dark alcove of the room. There were people talking softly and Raen moved to the edge of the shadows and watched. The change in reality was so profound it took several minutes for Raen to comprehend what he was looking at. Raen had never been here before but he had seen this room before in photographs - Raen was standing in the Kitsune Imperial Throne Room. Tall columns lined the outer aisles, and standing next to each column was a Carinian Black Guard. Raen looked back at the stairs, they were still there, but didn’t look like the stairs of the Eagle Cliffs. The throne was against the far wall, and on the throne sat a large imposing figure - Sionnach Tarin Aguienth, Light of a Thousand Stars, Emperor of the Glorious Kitsune Empire. Raen sighed and stepped out into the dim light of the chamber, nobody noticed him immediately so he walked towards the throne. Raen was less then fifty feet from the throne when the Black Guard realized a Raven was in the throne room and rushed forward to surround him, their Tridents leveled at Raen’s chest. “Hold,” commanded the Emperor. A tall, and very handsome, Raven wearing a long red cape over his Raven uniform approached from a side alcove where he had been speaking with a group of men. “I know of only one Raven permitted in the Throne Room,” says Emperor Sionnach. “What is this?” The Black Guard parted enough for the red caped Raven to approach. Raen held his hands out to his sides and bowed to the Raven. “Greetings, Prince Raven,” says Raen. “How did you get on Kitsune without anyone knowing?” asks Prince Raven and then turns to the Emperor without bothering to wait for Raen’s answer. “Emperor, this is the Hawk that would be a Raven that would be an Eagle. I present Prince Raen, The Heart of Darai.” The Emperor waved the Black Guard away and they took several steps back, but kept their Tridents pointed at Raen. “And how did The Heart of Darai get into the most secure building in the galaxy?” asks the Emperor. Prince Raven turned back to Raen with an amused expression on his face. “Yes, do tell, I have legions of Ravens guarding the Palace.” Raen considered a flip remark, but if he did, dozens of innocent Raven Officers would be put to death before the sun rose again. Prince Raven was known for being particularly brutal with discipline. “I was brought here by the Gunslinger Jon Black,” says Raen. The Emperor stood and walked towards Raen. “If this is your idea of a joke I will rip your heart out of your chest and let you hold it while you die.” Raen hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from the Emperor, confusion maybe, but not this. “I am searching for a way to get to Demonia,” says Raen. “Gunslinger Black said you must remember what you have forgotten.” “Lights!” shouts the Emperor. Almost immediately the lights in the Throne Room came up and the Emperor carefully searched the faces of everyone in the vast chamber. “You speak to everyone but me, father,” shouts the Emperor. “What have I done to displease you so?” Prince Raven silently mouthed a sentence to Raen, knowing that Raen, being a Master Raven, would easily understand him. “You play a dangerous game, Raven-Hawk, if you are lying about Gunslinger Black, Sionnach will kill you.” Emperor Sionnach spun on Raen. “Take me to him,” shouted the Emperor. “I am not in control of how I got here, or whether I can even get back,” says Raen. “But I can take you to where I came in from.” “Do so,” orders the Emperor. Raen turns and leads the Emperor, and the Black Guards, and Prince Raven, and a dozen curious Courtesans to the stairs he entered the Throne Room from. “Up these stairs,” says Raen. “Those stairs go to the Chancellor’s office,” says the Emperor. “Everyone remain here, this Master Raven possesses no danger to me.” Raen climbed the stairs and the Emperor followed. Raen reached the top of the stairs with the Emperor right behind him - nothing happened. Raen looked back at the Emperor and shrugged. “I was coming down the stairs on the Eagle Cliffs and then I was in the Throne Room,” says Raen. “I told you, I’m not in control of how I got here.” “I had the lights off because of a headache, perhaps that’s the difference,” says the Emperor. “So you believe me?” asks Raen. The Emperor ignores the question and shouts back down the stairs. “Turn off the lights.” The lights go out and Raen walks to the stairs… “Umph.” …and walks into a wall. “Where’s the stairs?” asks Raen. “Smell the air, it’s stale,” says the Emperor. “We’re not on Kitsune anymore, did you think to bring a flashlight.” Raen fumbles around inside his coat and produces a lighter. The flame illuminates the area around him, it’s another hallway, but not the one they were in. “Hold the flame up,” orders the Emperor. Raen does and sees pictures of Ravens on the wall, and a small table with a statue of a Raven and a Talon Dagger next to it. “I’ll be damned,” says the Emperor, and then flips a switch on the wall and the lights flicker on. “Of all the places in the galaxy to bring me, why here?” Raen looks up and down the hall. “There’s no exit, it’s just a hallway that goes nowhere,” says Raen. “Oh, it goes somewhere, that is a false wall,” says the Emperor pointing at one end of the hall. “I put it there two-hundred years ago before I left, and from the dust on this table, nobody has been in here since.” The Emperor picks up the Talon Dagger from the table and smiles. “I forgot all about this dagger, the balance was all wrong, I never liked this one.” “Where are we?” asks Raen. “We’re in the Raven Palace,” says the Emperor setting the dagger back down. “I grew up here, Lord Tulus Raven was my father.” “How many fathers do you have?” asks Raen. “Three; Emperor Tarin, Gunslinger Black, and Lord Tulus Raven,” replies the Emperor. “I think I loved Tulus Raven the most, he protected me when no other could.” “I’ve never heard of you living here,” says Raen. “I attended the Temple the same as you,” says the Emperor. “But I imagine all records of me being here were destroyed, which is probably why this lost wing of the Palace has never been discovered; we’re in one of the sub-basements, it’s just another lost tunnel, there are many of them.” Raen knew that was true. The Moeth Alliance had spent most of their time while attending the Temple hiding in a lost tunnel that Avocet and Sander had discovered. Raen followed the Emperor to the end of the hall. The Emperor pushed open a door on the left side of the hall and they walked in. The room had obviously belonged to a boy; discarded toys, clothing, and Raven weapons were scattered about. The Emperor picked up an old book and flipped through the pages while Raen poked around a bit. He found a gold and white Imperial Princes uniform hanging in a closet - the Emperor really had been here. “You’re suppose to remember something,” says Raen. “I can’t imagine what,” replies the Emperor. “Who lived in the other rooms?” asks Raen. “Nobody, it was just me here alone, and I only used this one room,” says the Emperor. “Well, there is the room across the hall, but I’ve only been in there once.” “What’s in there?” asks Raen. “Something I’d rather not remember,” replies the Emperor. Raen raises a brow. “It has nothing to do with getting to Demonia and finding my son,” says the Emperor. “I don’t have the key to that room anymore, it’s in a museum now.” Raen retrieves a lock-pick set from his coat. “Is there anything you don’t have inside that coat?” asks the Emperor. “Just the standard issue Raven equipment,” replies Raen. “Very well, if you must,” says the Emperor. “Open the door.” Raen walks across the hall and unlocks the door faster than most people could with the key. He pushes the door open and stands aside, letting the Emperor enter first. Raen follows next and… the day just kept getting stranger. The room was a boy’s room, but not a Raven boy’s room. “This is a exact replica of my room in the old Children’s Palace when I was six-years old,” explains the Emperor. The Emperor walks around the bed and picks up one of the pillows. “I’m so sorry, Seph, I should have given you the good pillow. I would give anything to go back and right that wrong.” Raen turned away to inspect the rest of the room and give the Emperor some privacy. Everyone had some childhood regret they wished they could change; some act of cruelty, or greed, or a word they wished they could take back. The Emperor was obviously remembering some such incident. Raen looked down on a formation of toy soldiers on the floor and knelt beside them. He could just imagine a six-year old Sionnach playing with these toy soldiers. Raen reached to pick up one of the toys. “Don’t touch those,” says the Emperor. “They’re…” The Emperor stopped in mid-sentence and Raen looked backed. The Emperor rushed around the bed and looked down at the toys. “How could I have forgotten?” whispers the Emperor. “There’s a notebook on that table, bring it.” Raen got up and went over to the table. One look at the two-hundred year old notebook and Raen turned back to the Emperor. “This paper will fall apart if I move it,” says Raen. “Well, do you have any paper in that treasure coat of yours?” demands the Emperor. “As a matter of fact,” says Raen handing the Emperor a small notebook. “Just flip past my notes, there’s plenty of blank paper.” The Emperor glances at Raen’s notes. “Foolish, don’t invest in that company, or that one, and why would you even consider purchasing from them?” The Emperor continues reading Raen’s notes. “Don’t you get a copy of ‘The Raven’, half the investments you’re considering are pure foolishness.” “What’s ‘The Raven’?” asks Raen. “Of course, you left the Temple before you advanced to the level to learn of it,” says the Emperor. “The Raven Intelligence Brief is expensive, but worth it. I’ll make sure you start getting a copy.” “Thank you,” says Raen. “Now what’s the significance of these toys.” “It’s the solution to trans-dimensional travel,” replies the Emperor. “I solved it when I was six.” “We already solved TDS,” says Raen. “TDS is skipping thirty-four feet at a time just under the surface of real space. Each skip against real space is what causes the current speed barrier, the same as a rock skipping over water slows down until it sinks,” says the Emperor. “This equation is for an engine that will allow the spacecraft to remain in trans-dimensional travel the entire time. You would be able to reach Demonia in three days, even without a worm-hole.” The Emperor spends the next hour carefully writing out the equation, and then hands the notebook back to Raen. “My hold on the Empire is very weak right now,” says the Emperor. “If I were to build this engine, it would be seen as a further aggressive Kitsune act of war, but you can. Build this yourself, give it to nobody, you would upset the delicate balance of power in the galaxy. And find my son.” The Emperor stands and kicks over the toy soldiers. Raen follows him back into the hall and they stop next to the light switch. “Wait here,” says the Emperor grinning. “I need to do something.” The Emperor walks to the end of the hall and pushes on two sections of the wall and slides it back. Raen recognizes the hallway beyond, he had been there before; Lord Raven’s office was there. The Emperor walked down the hall to Lord Raven’s office. There were no guards on this side of the hall, nobody expected an attack to come from this side. The Emperor opened Lord Raven’s door, Lord Raven was sitting at his desk and Lady Raven at her favorite reading chair - the shock on their faces at seeing the Kitsune Emperor at their door evident. “You are to end hostilities against House Eagle immediately, do you understand!” the Emperor shouts and points at Lady Raven. “If I have to come back here again it will be with my entire fleet and I will make sure your Senate knows I’m only coming for the Ravens - and start sending Lord Raen a copy of ‘The Raven.’ The Emperor slams the door shut and runs for the open hallway Raen is waiting, and slides the wall closed again before anyone can see where he went. “That was fun,” says the Emperor. “Don't you think they’ll find this hallway now?” asks Raen beginning to understand where Prince Mischief gets his propensity for mischief from. “Possibly, if they do it will give the historians something to argue about for awhile,” replies the Emperor. The Emperor flips the light switch and the hall goes dark. “The stairs are back,” says the Emperor. Raen follows him down the stairs, the dim light at the bottom grows a bit brighter and Raen steps out onto… …the beach below the Eagle Cliffs. Raen shakes his head and heads back up the cliff to find Willet and Teal and see if the equation really can build an engine.