His Frost Maiden

by Michelle M. Pillow

  “I didn’t know Florencia had more than one moon, let alone settlements on it,” Lucien said. “It’s just a dead planet, isn’t it?”

  They all gathered in the dining hall. Plates of half eaten food were strewn over the table as they all sat around the holo-box. It had taken most of the meal for Viktor to bypass the codes and get it running and even longer until the message would play with sound. Dev stood behind Mei, his arms crossed over his chest. Mei lounged against her husband’s side, even as the couple managed to stay seated in their own chairs. Jackson and Lochlann leaned against the counter, drinking some kind of thick pink substance that Evan didn’t even want to know the ingredients of. They claimed it was an old remedy to help the head, but he wasn’t that desperate to get rid of the ache between his eyes.

  “If the old geography upload I had when I was a child still serves, there were several moons to the planet, like ten or twelve.” Evan looked up. “Florencia’s Fifth Moon? I thought that was an ice prison. I thought they were all ice prisons.”

  “It didn’t used to be,” Jackson answered. “A long time ago they were each inhabited by human settlements. I knew a guy who was born on the fourth planet. He was an old timer and probably dead by now, but he said they were established by humans and set up like periods of Old Earth history. People were afraid that they’d forget the ways of Old Earth when they abandoned the dying planet for New Earth.”

  “Like a tourist moon system?” Lucien mused.

  “Exactly.” Jackson nodded. “Now it’s an ice prison.”

  “I’ve heard of this place. They froze prisoners in blocks of ice or something.” Viktor stiffened even as he rubbed his head in thought. “Weren’t the prisons abandoned? I remember hearing something, somewhere about how the prisoners were being slowly defrosted without the aid of medical personnel and then they were killed by some crazy warden if they survived the painful unfreezing process.”

  Evan leaned forward, studying the frozen man. His transparent image made it hard to see the details of his face.

  “Oh, yeah,” Lucien interjected. “I remember hearing about that. He was also killing them while still frozen, smashing them, dropping them onto rocks.”

  “Those were just rumors,” Jackson said. “You know, folk tales to scare children and keep people from attempting prison breaks.”

  “I don’t know. I seem to remember the source being credible,” Viktor said.

  “You didn’t happen to meet this source while drinking on some random fueling dock, did you?” Dev mused.

  “Actually,” Lucien interjected smartly. “It was a space port. And we weren’t drunk.”

  “The guy was,” Viktor corrected, as he fiddled with side controls to the box. The others snickered. Reaching to the disc, he tapped the base at the man’s feet several times. It flickered, but finally the holographic man continued speaking.

  “...release authorized by my superiors and hereby given to the commanding warden in Ice Complex Five, Authorization code H forty-seven, fifty-one. When the ice storms came nearly forty years ago, many of my men were killed. It was too cold to stay and finish our work releasing certain political prisoners and we abandoned post on supreme orders. However, there are a few who remain that should not, as they have been pardoned for their crimes. Attached is a list of prisoners set for immediate release. They will be hostile and should be escorted and left on the Rifflen base in the V Quadrant. No provisions beyond those orders are necessary.”

  Evan watched every movement of the general, his eyes carefully studying the flickering man. It was frustrating, not being able to read the holographic image. Glancing around, he saw the rest of the crew was waiting for the little figure to continue talking.

  When it didn’t, Viktor said, “Well, it’s old, right? They’ve probably released whatever prisoners they were supposed to.” He gave a nervous laugh.

  A sense of deep sadness washed over the crew. Evan knew exactly why they felt that way. The idea of some person being stuck because of a lost communication was a horrific possibility.

  “What if they’re still there, frozen, because this message was lost?” Jackson whispered. “Can you imagine? Fifty years in an ice block?”

  “Could be longer than that,” Viktor said. “Who knows how long they were in ice before they were pardoned.”

  “It’s too late,” Jackson whispered. “Their bodies probably decomposed within the ice blocks. I’d logically assume that most humanoid bodies can’t be frozen for that long and survive.”

  “The prisoners might not be human,” Lucien said. “Just because the settlement that came before was human doesn’t mean the prisoners all are.”

  “Are we sure they froze the prisoners in ice?” Jarek asked.

  Evan’s concentration was broken by another emotion, a deeper one. Blinking in surprise, he noticed for the first time since the transmission had started that Rick hadn’t moved. He was staring at the little, blinking figure, his face white. Pain rolled over Evan, more intense than any emotion he’d ever picked up from Rick. It was like some door had squeaked open just a crack inside of the man.

  Gasping, Evan clutched his chest. “Rick? What...?”

  Just as suddenly, the door inside Rick slammed shut and Evan could breathe.

  “Evan? Are you all right?” Mei shot to her feet amidst the sound of her chair scraping across the floor. She was instantly by his side. “What happened? You’re as pale as my dead ancestors.”

  “Rick?” Evan asked again. All eyes turned to the man. Rick gave an easy smile, but Evan saw something different in his expression, something he’d never noticed before.

  “Let’s go check it out.” Rick’s blackened eyes hid all expression. “It couldn’t hurt to inquire; at least drop off the release orders if anyone is still there on guard. Let them handle their own matters.”

  “But—?” Evan couldn’t speak. He was too stunned by what he’d felt in the man.

  “You want to go on a rescue mission?” Lucien broke in, his tone revealing how shocked he was.

  “Could be a women’s prison.” Rick winked.

  “Evan?” Mei asked softly.

  “I’m fine,” he assured her and she backed away, again joining her husband’s side.

  “I’ll go set the coordinates. If memory serves, it’s only a couple days’ flight from where we’re at, week at most.” Rick crossed over the table, not giving another glance at the holo-box. He whistled a light tune, sounding very much like his old self.

  “Something’s wrong,” Evan said, staring after the pilot.

  “Ah,” Jarek waved a dismissing hand. “Something is always off with Rick. It’s what makes Rick, Rick.” Then, putting his fists on his hips, he said, “All right, let’s get ready for anything. Dev, Jackson, you two make sure all the weapons are charged and ready. You never know what we’ll find once we’re down there. Fifty years is a long time. Viktor, you see if you can’t figure out the rest of that thing, if there even is a rest. We’ll need those prisoner numbers. Lochlann, you and Evan go through our winter supplies and take inventory. An ice prison complex? Sounds cold. Lucien, you’re on research. Find out what you can about Ice Complex Five. Once Viktor gets the numbers, hopefully you’ll be able to find something out about whom we are supposed to rescue. I don’t want to thaw any savage killers and set them loose on the galaxies.”

  Chapter 4

  Ice Complex Five, Florencia’s Fifth Moon, One Week Later...

  Evan pulled his coat tighter to his chest. Their snowsuits came in two parts. The thick, black padding was surprisingly lightweight for all the bulk. Federation patches were sewn along the chests on all but Jackson’s white suit, which read ESC for the Exploratory Science Commission. They’d “scavenged” the suits like just about everything else on their ship. Technically, the load of winter supplies had been abandoned when they found it, even if it had a lock on the cargo box and sat next to an unused ESC compound. Beneath their suits, they wore “borrowed” ESC skintight black jump
suits. The undergarment molded to their bodies, covering arms and legs completely for added protection against the elements. The material was so elastic, it even stretched to fit Dev, though his snowsuit was modified and appeared a little short on him. The under suits came with a transmitter sewn into the v-neckline, which Viktor modified to connect the ground crew to their ship by way of a primitive radio signal.

  The cold wintry air had a severe bite as it hit Evan’s exposed cheeks and nose. Whoever had designated the moon for the ice prisons couldn’t have picked a better location. Rotating the uninhabited planet of Florencia, the moon had been cultivated to sustain life, and by the appearances of the icy tundra, had also fallen into desolation, abandoning the life it once supported.

  The pale blue-grey of the sky was clear and long, stretching for miles without a single thing to mar its flat color. The weather was no surprise. When they’d approached in their ship, they’d scanned the area. There were twelve moons and a planet with only one sun to warm them. Though old weather shuttles looked as if they’d once regulated the seasons, amplifying the sun, a hole had been blown in the side of the one that rotated around the Fifth Moon and now circled as a useless mass of junk. It was even too old to scavenge for parts.

  On the surface, icy sculptures of the past stood in frozen testament. What looked to be rows of crops lined the gentle swooping landscape. They were unharvested, trampled along the edge by footprints leading to a square metal building which was the prison. The newer prison complex was severely out of place with the rest of the small moon’s older style structures. There was no reason to its placement, as if built in a hurry with no care to the surrounding nature. What had been an orchard of trees stretched to its side, the limbs slick and shiny like ice cycles poking toward the heavens.

  “It’s like the gods sculpted it from ice and set it down,” Jackson whispered.

  “More like cursed it once it was built, sheathing it in ice,” Jarek said.

  Trekking from where their ship lifted off the ground to hover above in space, they made their way into the prison complex. Mei was still on the spaceship with her son and Lochlann to keep her company. The man had lost the random draw and was left behind as the rest of them went in search of the prisoners. Mei wasn’t too happy about not going along, but Jarek had given her little choice in the matter, appealing to her motherly instinct.

  The compound was unlocked, the sensors down. After a quick sweep for alarms, they pushed inside. For the most part, the building was abandoned, cold square rooms, standing forgotten and not very unlike other prison compounds he’d seen—especially those built by the Federation a century ago. Almost every surface was made of flat, metal, standard Federation issue building supplies. The compound was cold, but the snow did not penetrate the metal walls and ceiling. Lights gave them plenty to see by, the prison system still running off of an old biocell. After throwing the main switch by the front door, sensors detected them as they entered each room, automatically switching on power to all the room’s systems.

  Evan wasn’t sure what they had expected to find, but he had carried a picture in his mind of solid blocks of ice with prisoners trapped inside, or a plastic-type holding containers, even a fluid filled tube with computers monitoring the vitals of the floating prisoners within. Instead, they found eerie statues, locked in fear, in screams, arms raised as if to protect their faces. What solid evidence they’d found of prisoners was disturbing, lending credence to the rumors that they’d been killed while still frozen in stone. Many of the unfortunate souls were broken, skulls crushed, heads knocked off, limbs crumbling into piles of red tinted stones. Not really ice, but more like cool rocks, they were the perfect prisoners. They didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t talk or complain. They merely stood, unmoving, helpless in a large court in the center of the building.

  “They look to be in pain,” Viktor whispered, as he touched a disembodied head. The woman’s lips were wide in a scream and her eyes were shut tight. “Do you think these were really people?”

  “They were people,” Dev answered grimly.

  “Why’s this room so dusty? The rest of the compound is spotless,” Lucien said. He’d taken off his dark cap, exposing his head to the chill. A flush brightened his cheeks, matching those of his companions.

  “It’s the stones. No one cleaned up after they were destroyed,” Dev answered.

  “You mean we’re stepping in...” Viktor froze, looking down to where his feet left prints in the fine dust. “People?”

  “Looks like it.” Jackson frowned, nudging a young man with his foot. The boy couldn’t have been more than thirteen human years with long, floppy hair that covered his stone eyes. “This one has phazer blasts in the stomach and chest. If they were used as target practice, repeatedly shot at, that would account for the dust.”

  “They don’t exactly look like criminals.” Evan’s stomach churned. The emotions churning inside him weren’t his alone. Every one of them felt the same. There was no love between them and anything Federation, but to see these people caused a wave of disgust and sorrow. The crew might be space pirates, but they had hearts. “In fact, they look like regular people.”

  “What are criminals supposed to look like?” Lucien mused.

  “I only mean that these people look like they come from the same place.” Evan motioned toward a woman on the floor. Her dress was perfectly intact, even if half of her head and hands were missing. The long gown and apron were plain, but seemed to indicate a style similar to the men, with their loose fitted pants and long, tunic-like shirts. “They’re dressed in the same style of clothing, like they came from the same planet.”

  “I count about twenty-five prisoners.” Dev knelt at the feet of one of the more composed males. The older gentleman was locked in what appeared to be prayer, his hands clasped and his face gritted but composed—at least the lower half that was still attached to his neck. Dev swiped his hand over the dusty floor. “The lot numbers are at the base of each prisoner.” He walked along what would have made an even row, running his foot through the dust. “Over half of them are missing. There are lot numbers but no sign of the prisoner to go with it.”

  “Unless they’re dust,” Jackson said.

  “Or the rumors about the warden were true,” Viktor offered, “and they were thawed without medical supervision.”

  “We’ll check the medic logs. They have to have prison records somewhere and that’s the most logical place to start,” Jarek decided. Though he didn’t say it, Evan knew they all were especially curious to discover what had come of the persons meant to be pardoned. They had only been able to retrieve one and a half numbers.

  “I didn’t know they kept prisons like this,” Lucien said. “It makes me like the Federation even less.”

  “I don’t think they do anymore,” Rick said. “If they did, this place would still be running. It’s the perfect location—far out of the way, dead, and forgotten.”

  “Look at how all the statues are crushed,” Dev said, his tone flat and matter-of-fact. “Why execute them unless it was to hide the secret of this place?” Then, in disgust, he spat, “Cowards, killing them without doing the honor of putting a weapon in their hand.”

  “Unless they were deadly,” Jarek said, though he didn’t sound convinced. He crouched down beside a woman who had been severed in two. He touched her cheek, tracing what looked to be a frozen tear. Evan trembled, forced to look away. He felt the men’s pity and frustration. It compounded his own.

  “Odds are,” Jackson said, “they figured whoever found it would assume these were really just broken statues and not prisoners.”

  “Come on, let’s see if we can find the logs and make sure there isn’t any missing or hidden somewhere else. I can’t imagine leaving anyone to this fate.” Jarek made a move to continue through the facility.

  “I don’t think they feel anything,” Jackson said.

  “I should hope not,” Evan whispered. He noticed Rick didn’t say anything, mer
ely stood, looking around.

  “Let’s be sure,” Jarek ordered. “We came here so we might as well see this through. Keep your eyes open for removable property.”

  After searching the facility and finding none that could be thawed without instantly dying from their injuries, they located the medical laboratory. Viktor accessed the computer, unable to bypass many of the old military codes. In the end, they found an old hand-held with a master list of all lot numbers, but no crimes or names. Anyone who didn’t know what to look for would think them cargo lot numbers. But, what they discovered on the list led them once again outside the facility toward the old structures set apart from the newer military ones. The pardoned prisoner they looked for was not housed in the complex.

  It was evident by the design that the surrounding grounds came before the Federation. A big wall surrounded a small village. They passed through a front gate, after Rick cut loose an old, rusted lock. Aside from a smashed down trail of footsteps that led from the main gate, under an arch in a second wall, and then to the front entrance of the castle, the rest of the yard still had plant life frozen like sharp spikes from the ground, completely undisturbed.

  Cottages were frozen in time and loomed over by an enormous castle. Dark, slick spires rose toward the gray cast sky, just as magnificent as the day they’d been built. Not a single stone looked to be out of place. Evan stopped, taking a deep breath as he peered up. Sturdy, round towers were set into the walls and as they passed under the second, shorter wall, it looked like there might be a walkway overhead.

  Seeing a figure near him, stomping forward at a fast pace, he frowned. Something was wrong with Rick. Evan had been getting the smallest glimpses of feeling from the man that was entirely out of character.

  “Rick?” Evan asked, drawing the man’s attention.

  “I’m freezing my balls off. Why in the world would they store prisoners outside the complex?” Rick again trudged forward, moving to catch up to the others. Evan followed behind.