A SPARTAN'S WAR

"…is why I am doing this." They watched the image of Ulana on the small kitchen monitor as they sipped coffee. Six plates of eggs, steak, fruit and toasted bread were now empty in front of them at the eat-in counter. Large mugs of coffee were full and steaming however. "I do not wish to be the one to bring attention to these issues, but if I do not, who else will? I… I care deeply for Androcles. I… I love him, even after the way he has treated me and what we shared. I believe he is unaware of the kind of women who he has chosen to take as his wives and mates. Or what they are capable of or intend. This woman Sadi, who flaunts her pureblood status even though it still remains in question, and the elf female Ne'Veha most of all. Andro hates to fly, he always has and he has two mates who are pilots? That is completely out of character for him. I know him and he is not acting as the Androcles I know. He promised me we would always be together and Andro does not break his promises. I…"

"Yes you are Ulana." Sadi said softly and Ne'Veha giggled as she leaned into her from her chair. "You are completely unaware of who we are or what we are capable of. Hates to fly aur mida!" She looked at Ne'Veha. "Where does she get her information? Gypsies are us? If Elynth heard this she would be spitting fire and want to scorch this malda indalmus athach!" (Crazy ignorant witch)

Deia let out a small laugh at Sadi's words and the reaction from Ne'Veha and she reached over from her spot and muted the monitor by touching the screen, turning back to Sadi and Ne'Veha. "For the last three weeks Ulana has been holding these small rallies across Apo Prime in her home district. She draws crowds ranging in size from fifty to several hundred. They are mostly die hard supporters of her father's policies and by default hers."

"So it is no longer just Sadi that she is going after then. Now she is going after Ne'Veha as well?" Kynthia spoke now. The short dark hair of the female Durcunusaan Lieutenant was streaked with dark blond highlights and her tanned skin was healthy and smooth. Her cool brown eyes were alert and resolute and she took her duties as Sadi's Detail Head very seriously.

Gorgo nodded. "It would appear that is now the case yes." She said.

"She has referenced different items in regards to Ne'Veha as well as Carisia." Deia spoke looking at the data pad quickly and then to Ne'Veha. "Specifically your father's views towards Lycavorians Ne'Veha and a certain Captain Tarren. Sadi and Ne'Veha are the most well known of Andro's mates. Ne'Veha because of her status as a Fleet pilot and how she took command of certain things after the attempt on your lives here by the OSG and Sadi for obvious reasons."

"Tarren?" Ne'Veha gasped. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Ulana has made it a point to mention in her recent rallies that this Tarren fellow says he claimed you before Andro." Deia said calmly. Deia didn't believe it for an instant, even when her aides brought it to her. Her nephew Martin and great-nephew Androcles were perhaps the most entrenched in tradition when it came to the Spartan way of life and if Ne'Veha had been mated, or even discussing it with another male, Androcles would never have pursued her. "That you accepted and then, when Andro came into your life, you dismissed Tarren. And that you and Andro are also responsible for ruining his career based on false information in order to keep quiet the fact that he had claimed you before Andro. Not to mention that he is being held under false pretence by the Durcunusaan and that he has been interrogated extensively."

Ne'Veha looked at her with wide eyes. "She actually talked to that igord?" She hissed angrily. "How did she even get access to him? He's locked in a prison cell! Tarren will say anything to protect himself and his ego!"

"Apparently Ulana discovered he had this information and arranged for a meeting." Deia said. "We don't know how. She's is lobbying hard to have him released."

Gorgo reached out and took Ne'Veha's hand. "Ne'Veha… we do not believe anything Ulana or this Tarren fellow says… but you understand how this could look inappropriate for Androcles and give ammunition to those who do not like him."

The outrage on Ne'Veha's face was obvious and completely honest. "That disgusting gostin!" She hissed looking at Gorgo. "I never did any such thing! I dated him for a time yes… but it was never anything serious to me. I was confused over how my father raised us to be and then being exposed to something different in the fleet. Tarren practically scented me without telling me what he was doing! I had no idea he had done this until I saw the look in Sadi's eyes when she came to the SCIMITAR to visit me! Up until then… Tarren and I had an on again off again relationship! Nothing more! He was part of the problem! When I realized what he had done I never saw him again!"

"What about this claim of ruining his career and…?" Deia began to ask but Sadi stepped in.

"Taren is the one who gave the information to the OSG agents that attacked us here on the island Deia." Sadi spoke. "Unwittingly or not, he was responsible. SirsanGai acted as any of us would have acted. Considering what happen, Tarren is lucky he was not executed for treason because of his actions."

Deia nodded. "Forgive me for asking Ne'Veha. I never doubted you child but I needed to hear what you did in your own words."

"I should have ordered the Durcunusaan to execute him!" Ne'Veha hissed. "If I knew he would be involved in this I…"

"Do not worry about Tarren child. Dealing with him will be easy. He is one of the type of Alphas with an over inflated sense of self worth. We can deal with him easily enough." Gorgo spoke with a smile.

"So Ulana is going to have him released?" Ne'Veha hissed. "How do the orders of a new Senator override the orders of a Princess?"

"Once Tarren was remanded to custody, the Durcunusaan questioned him and then turned him over to Fleet authority." Deia answered. "I discovered that he was able to contact his father, a prominent officer himself, who put pressure on Fleet authorities to have him released and when Ulana suddenly took interest they went ahead and granted the release request until such time as he stands trial for his actions."

"Regardless of why he did it Deia… he gave intelligence to an enemy who then used that intelligence to attack our home here and try to kill us!" Sadi spat. "How do we just let him free after that?"

"He and Ulana are claiming Andro and you were not the targets." Deia said. "That there was another target here that the OSG Team was after. They did not mention names but that is what they were implying. The Commissioning Board of Fleet officers went over the evidence and released him to Ulana's custody. They set his trial date for five months from now as well. "

"How would they know about Lady Devra?" Aeqea asked now. "No one knew she and her daughters were here."

"No one is perfect Aeqea." Deia said. "Even the Durcunusaan. If I had to guess I would say it came unwittingly from within the ranks of the Durcunusaan. Talking to a comrade or member of their family. And it was over heard by someone with big ears. Similar in a way to how they got their meeting with Andro some months back."

"Anse!" Kynthia spat. "Jomann will have a fit when he hears that. I can guarantee it will not happen anymore!"

Deia nodded her head. "Better it comes from you too." She said. "I will leave that for the Durcunusaan to sort out.

"To continue on… Ulana's comments on Carisia are well known." Gorgo spoke as she squeezed Ne'Veha's hand reassuringly as she spoke. "Carisia is Yuri's daughter and a vampire of the High Coven and therefore cannot be trusted. So on and so forth. She won't openly go after her however… or Lu'ria."

"She's afraid of them. Especially our Drow Mistress." Ne'Veha spoke confidently.

Gorgo nodded. "That is what Deia and I feel as well." She said. "Ulana will not go after Lu'ria because she is a Drow. No one in their right mind wants Aihola or Daba and the Drow facing off against them. That would be political suicide in more ways than one. Since Carisia spends more time with her and they are often together because of what they feel for each other, Ulana will not go after them. You and Sadi are the most visible of Andro's wives and mates because you are his pilots, because Sadi is a pureblood and now because of what Tarren is saying Ne'Veha has done. Therefore Ulana is going to target the two of you."

Sadi looked at them and shook her head finally. "We don't care what Ulana does. Why bring this to us now?" She asked.

Gorgo looked at Sadi. "She has announced that she will hold a rally like this in Sparta at the end of this week." She said. "Tarifa was going to deny her a permit but we convinced her to not get involved."

Ne'Veha looked at Gorgo. "Why?" She asked.

Gorgo looked at Ne'Veha and smiled warmly, her dark eyes bright. She truly adored all of her grandsons mates. They were a unique blend of unbelievable beauty, skill and intellect. Though they would never admit it, they were cut from the same mold as her son's Queens and it was no secret that Gorgo adored all of Martin's wives and mates. Sadi and the others were rapidly beginning to command as much respect as them from throughout the Union. "If Ulana wishes to bring her misguided message here to Sparta… let her. She will not find so enraptured an audience I'm thinking. She still does not understand the importance of Sparta to our family. I believe she is going to jump into the lion's pit fully unaware of the consequences." Gorgo told her.

"Sparta has become the place of power for our family." Deia picked it up. "I had hoped when Martin first returned that it would be Apo Prime. Once I saw the love in his eyes for this city I knew that was not going to be the case. Since I have been here, lived here over these past years, I now know why he feels this and my feelings have become his. The Leonidas family has become synonymous with Sparta. They are completely interwoven with each other. With Sparta and Gytheio. And while I do not carry that name… Martin once told me that I will always be a Leonidas in my heart and blood. I have come to feel as he does in regards to Sparta and Earth. So many have come here from across the Union to make it their home, that it is now a melting pot from across the entire Union. It is also here where the loyalty and love of our family runs deepest."

Gorgo nodded. "Let Ulana come and try to do here what she is doing on Apo Prime. I think she will quickly discover that she can not."

"You know of course that she is being used." Sadi said softly.

Deia nodded. "That is what we believe as well, unfortunately there is no way to prove that she is not working of her own accord."

"So this fool Icho and the others are letting her do this even knowing that it will not work in the way she hopes?" Ne'Veha asked.

Aeqea nodded as she leaned forward in her seat. "She is the public face while they sit behind closed doors and pull the strings." She said understanding.

Deia nodded. "Exactly. I'm quite sure they hope this plot of hers will work in some way. And to be honest, it may work to some small degree, but nothing like what Ulana hopes. She is blind to the fact that the others are using her. She was never a very bright girl no matter what she likes to think of herself. All of us saw that the few times she spent moments with us on the Royal Island on Apo Prime. She will never be able to convince the majority of the population of Sparta and Earth, or the Union for that matter, that these accusations are true in any way. Not after witnessing the way Androcles dotes over each of you, how he pulls all of you close to him." Deia said with a grin. "If anything… she will only bring more people over to your side with her foul spewing. Sadi… you have been told how many people are beginning to view you… and it is contagious, for those same men and women are beginning to speak the same about Ne'Veha and Lu'ria and Carisia. All of you have a draw about you, a sense of mysticism. It happened with Aricia and the others and now it is happening with all of you."

Sadi looked at her. "Deia… I do not want to play on the sensibilities of other people. It isn't right."

Deia nodded. "I'm not saying that you should." She replied.

Sadi looked at her intently. "But you came here to tell us this for a reason." She said slightly confused. "Why?"

"For whatever the reason… you and Ne'Veha have become the face of Androcles." Deia told her. "You are almost never apart when the Netnews catches you. Carisia and Lu'ria are the mystery that no one dares delve into. I don't think there is a Netnews reporter alive with the nor to enter one of the Drow cities and start poking around and asking questions about Lu'ria. And since Carisia and she are almost always together, that carries over to her as well. Ne'Veha and yourself on the other hand are different. We know Andro loves all of you; that is not at question ever, but like Dysea and For'mya have become for his father, you and Ne'Veha are becoming for Andro. No one among the Netnews will approach Aricia or Anja… they have told the Netnews on more than one occasion to stuff it. In much more entertaining language I might add." She said with a smile. "They have always feared Isabella in some way. Dysea and For'mya on the other hand have that elven sense of patience and calm."

"We are his public face." Sadi said softly.

Deia nodded. "Yes. And therefore the main targets." She answered. "Ulana has it in her head that you stole Androcles away from her. That you took what she should have had. And that just pisses her off."

Sadi shook her head with disgust. "I never stole Andro away from that upaee! He was always mine. He was always ours." Sadi answered confidently. "From the moment I saw him on the island that first time he has been mine. And I have been his. We have been his. It is the same for SirsanGai. For Carisia and Lu'ria as well."

Deia nodded her head. "I know that. As I said… she was never very bright no matter what she thinks of herself." She said. "Perhaps it is time to express what you share with Andro however."

Sadi met her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Our people and the elves are deeply entrenched in our faiths and what we believe in our hearts." Gorgo spoke. "Let's start showing that."

Sadi shook her head. "We may be Princesses… but we both still have duties to perform." She spoke. "We fly Andro's STRIKER and we are just starting to become familiar with the new version. I for one do not want to begin giving speeches and interviews when our people may be in harm's way."

Ne'Veha nodded her head in agreement. "I feel the same way." She said softly. "And I am just beginning to learn of my grandmother with the time I have been spending with her when I'm not with Sadi. I do not want to take away from that."

"If we do nothing… Ulana will continue to spew her nonsense." Deia said.

Sadi looked at her for a moment. "Let her spew it." Sadi said meeting her gaze and seeing something else there. "There is more to this isn't there Deia?" She asked. "What is going on here?" She looked at Gorgo. "Gorgo?"

Deia shrugged her shoulders and looked at Gorgo. "I told you it wouldn't work." She said with a smile.

Gorgo nodded a similar smile on her face. "So you did."

Sadi looked at Ne'Veha and then back and forth between the two women. Ne'Veha was the one to speak though. "You knew what wouldn't work?"

"I tried to convince Andro to address this." Deia spoke with a glint of humor in her dark eyes. "He told me in no uncertain terms that his life with his wives and mates is not an open book and he wouldn't share it. In his words, especially not with those Netnews tukannupaee! He was much more passionate about it than his father. Martin simply said nubou joa." She finished with a wide smile. "It was quite entertaining."

Sadi tilted her head to the side. "And you thought we might?" She asked. "Deia… none of us would ever go against Andro's wishes. You know that."

Gorgo reached over and took Sadi's hand as well as Ne'Veha's. Her dark eyes gazed at them with love and understanding. They were the same as her, yet they were so much more Gorgo knew. "There is a saying among the Sparta of old… They say the plain and the ordinary are ruled by fate… but it is the heroic that choose their own fate." Gorgo looked between them. "I have always disagreed with that." She told them. "I believe… I believe that every few thousand years destiny chooses its own champions. For whatever the reason Sadi… destiny has chosen my son and grandson to be those champions because of what is happening now and what is to come in the future. I believe that within my deepest heart. You Sadi Leonidas… you, Ne'Veha, Carisia, Lu'ria, all of Andro's mothers… you are the voices of those champions. You own their hearts and their souls in a way many will never fully comprehend or understand. The way Martin looks at Aricia and the others, the way Andro looks at you and Ne'Veha and the others… how they treat you. The people can see the absolute devotion and love in their eyes but they don't understand it. You can be touched by others. And because of that… people feel that my son and grandson are no different than they are. That they can be touched as well."

"Gorgo… that is precisely what Andro and Martin do not want to happen." Sadi said softly. "They don't want to be looked at as something more than they are. They hurt and they bleed… just like anyone. You more than anyone should know that."

Gorgo nodded. "I do." She answered just as softly. "But what Martin and Andro have not yet learned… what my Leonidas only learned in his last days among us… sometimes destiny doesn't give you much of a choice."

"So you want us to combat Ulana's lies with…" Ne'Veha began to ask.

"The truth." Deia finished her sentence. "Nothing but the truth. One interview… all of you together. You began it by capturing Icho's briefing like you did… follow it up with this. You can give people an insight into Androcles that they do not have now. If we do nothing and allow Ulana to spread her lies it will eventually come down to blows between the two of you. And we all know how that will end."

"You think I would… I would kill her?" Sadi asked.

"I think that you, Ne'Veha or any of you would butcher anyone who tried to take my mandri from you." Deia said. "I have seen how possessive Aricia and the others are towards Martin… and I have seen it briefly within all of you. I'm not entirely sure what power draws you to them in such a way, nor do I understand it, but it is there. Am I wrong?"

Sadi looked at her and shook her head after a moment. "No." She said softly. "Deia there are others within the Union that do not share our faith and beliefs. They may very well begin to consider us religious fanatics if we do this."

Deia nodded her head. "I realize that… but I think you might be surprised." She said in reply. "I believe everyone knows how deeply Martin and others view their faith even though he may not show it as often as others. I think they consider it a strength."

Ne'Veha reached out and clasped her fingers within Sadi's and looked at Gorgo. "Yes." She said softly. "We will do this."

"SirsanGai… you realize that…" Sadi stopped talking but continued to look at Ne'Veha. They were right she thought to herself. But it was also an opportunity to put a face to the name. To allow people to see that Andro and his father were no different in many respects than the average person.

"We need to do this KertaGai." Ne'Veha told her softly.

Sadi turned her eyes to Gorgo and Deia after a moment and nodded. "Very well… but we need to lay some ground rules first." Sadi told them. "First and foremost… Dilaen chooses who does the interview."

Deia smiled and held out the data pad she had been keeping on her belt. "She already has. Do you remember that elf Me'alla who was in Sparta that day of the Kavalian attack and caught everything in her camera? She lives here in Gytheio… and while she is not a die hard supporter of Martin or the Queens, she is loyal to the core."

Sadi nodded her head. "I recall her broadcasts. They were even and truthful and not filled with opinion and assumption."

Deia nodded. "Exactly."

"We do it here at the villa." Sadi spoke turning to look at her Durcunusaan Detail Head. "Kynthia can you set it up? We can use the main room here but we want to make sure nothing gets seen in the background that we don't want seen. We don't intend for our lives to become a soap opera on the Netnews."

Kynthia nodded. "Easily." She answered.

"The patio KertaGai. We can do it out there." Ne'Veha spoke. "So Majeir and Anthar can be part of it and no one sees inside our home."

Sadi nodded. "The patio then."

"When?" Deia asked.

"We can't do it today." Sadi said. "Carisia and Lu'ria won't be back from Eden City until early tomorrow. Late tomorrow morning… after Carisia and Lu'ria return."

"I'll make the arrangements." Deia said.

"I hope this doesn't backfire on us." Sadi said.

"It won't." Deia said.

"There is still the issue of how Ulana is getting all this information." Aeqea said. "Some how she is getting intelligence that she should not have. Details that are not public and that we the Durcunusaan are not giving out by accident by being stupid."

Kynthia nodded with a smile. "We believe we have traced it back to her time when she was dating the Prince. She may have accessed different internal computers at the island palace on Apo Prime. Or within Andro's apartment. Downloaded information." She told them. "We are investigating, but even we are stretched thin."

Deia nodded. "That would make sense. Like Gorgo I never really trusted her to be honest with you." She said. "Keep your investigation moving regardless Kynthia; it will only make things better when you finally discover the truth. As for what we intend now… it will not effect the outcome."

Gorgo looked around the villa then as if realizing something for the first time. "Where… where is Andro?" She asked. "I don't smell him anywhere on the island."

"He and Dorian left on the SCIMITAR late yesterday." Sadi answered. "They were doing a routine pick up of an Omega Team from Solmar. Near the Bontawillian border in The Wilds. Andro felt it would be good operational training for Dorian and Ryner. They needed field time together."

"Routine?" Deia asked.

Sadi nodded. "Yes. It is perfectly safe Deia. And well outside the Kavalian operational areas. They should be back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Deia said not sounding very convinced. "Why does that not give me much peace?"