The Princess Rebellion (The Kyroibi Trilogy Book 2)

by Christina McMullen

  “And who would that be?”

  “I’ll not compromise the safety of—” she began, but cut off as Mikk stepped forward.

  “That would be me,” she said, removing the hood from her cloak and tossing her head to free the cascading waves of golden hair. “Princess Meioak of Oakwrn Prefecture, Fhasmyr. Better known to most of you as Mikk, the Paisreatta scum who works as a lowly agri-farmer in Valwyn.”

  A collective gasp went up as Mikk gave Ellie a wink.

  “Lady Meioak,” Jorigul said, head bowed to the royal. “Forgive my impunity, but you have a responsibility to the citizens and refugees of Fhasmyr and Sintar. What purpose has hiding in Valwyn served?”

  “Aside from ensuring that Prince Gevandar did nothing to jeopardize the well-being of my brother, Prince Sozoak, I, like Lady El’iadrylline, did not feel wasting my time negotiating with unyielding leadership would be of use when I could instead move about anonymously and make plans for real change in the tides of war.”

  “Princess Meioak has a plan,” Ellie added, cutting off several leaders who had tried to object. “I have every confidence in her ability to keep safe the task force that we put together. Especially after the attack earlier today. It was thanks to her that Cald is safe. Give us a chance,” she pled. “At least hear us out. Should we fail, we can discuss alternate methods of liberation.”

  Ellie moved to stand next to Mikk, who gave her a reassuring smile as leadership discussed their proposal. At last a vote was called and she held her breath as each of the leaders cast their ballot.

  “Motion passed,” Isaverlline said at last. “You will have five days to present and structure your plan and five to implement. If by then we are no closer to securing a victory for the Alliance, you and all of your surviving operatives must return to the capital for a full report. At that time, El’iadrylline, you, as the Eidyn Master, will be requested to accompany Julian to the Eidyn home world and enlist the aid of the Limitless Battalion in our continued effort to thwart the Huptsovian Empire. Alliance leadership acknowledges that we cannot force the Kyroibi into action. Understand, however, that failure to obey the request may be construed as treason, which, if upheld, is punishable by stasis incarceration.”

  Ellie glared at her mother. She understood that as Queen of Korghetia, her obligation was to the safety of her people, but throwing out the one form of punishment she knew Ellie felt cruel and unusual was fighting dirty.

  “I will make the decision to comply or be convicted when the time comes,” she replied, holding her mother’s gaze.

  “Then it is settled and recorded. We shall reconvene in ten days,” Isa addressed the chamber.

  As the leaders made their way out of the room, Bethany threw her arms around Ellie and Mikk’s shoulders, giving each of them a half hug.

  “Ladies, I would not be more honored to serve a rebel princess even if Leia herself showed up to recruit me.”

  Ellie laughed, but Mikk’s eyes went wide as she regarded Bethany. “I was under the impression the United States rebelled against the monarchy of England. Do you mean to tell me otherwise?”

  “I’ll let you give the history lesson,” Ellie told Bethany as she scanned the crowd for Julian. She hadn’t seen him leave, but he didn’t appear to be in the chamber any longer.

  “Ellie, a quick word please?”

  Isaverlline’s voice was so quiet, Ellie almost missed her mother’s request.

  “Of course,” she replied, unable to gauge what she wanted as her mother had already turned away, headed back toward her private quarters.

  Chapter 20

  “I owe you an apology,” Isaverlline said without preamble once they were behind closed doors. “My judgement in regards to the Sintarian prince was misguided. I thought I was doing what was best to strengthen the alliance between ourselves and those who felt the most disenfranchised by the war. I am in utter shock. I did not want to believe the young prince responsible for your transformation. That he made an attempt on your life is inexcusable. Aligned with the Empire or not, he will stand trial for his crime.”

  “That’s okay, mom,” Ellie said, putting as much effort into making the dismissal sound genuine as she could muster. She could not fault her mother for thinking as the queen of a culture she had not yet taken the time to understand, but at the same time, she felt her mother was deluding herself if she honestly had no idea Gevandar’s ambition was self-serving.

  “No, it is not okay,” Isa went on. “Just this morning, I spoke to the prince. I assured him that I would do everything in my power to make sure your joining went through. He told me he was going to talk to you, to apologize for the handling of the strike on Du. I believed him to be sincere and I…” Her hands twisted together as she lowered her eyes, clearly upset and feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. “I used the bond of the Kyroibi to locate you and told Gevandar where you would be. I’m sorry. I did exactly what I said I would not do and worse, I made a terrible judgement call that put your life in danger.”

  “Oh,” was all Ellie could say, feeling more numbed by her mother’s confession than anything else.

  “I understand if you are angry, Ellie. You have every right to be, but there’s something you need to know.”

  Ellie looked up again, seeing real anguish in her mother’s eyes.

  “There is something else at work here,” Isa said quietly. “Julian confronted me regarding Gevandar and asked me if I was still under the influence of the Kyroibi’s draw. I’m not, but Ellie, something has manipulated me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I… I don’t want to make assumptions,” Isa began hesitantly. “But when Gevandar asked me where you were, it was almost as if he knew that I had a way of finding you. There is no way he could have known that unless he experienced the Kyroibi’s lure himself, and I don’t think that’s the case.”

  “What else could you be talking about?” Ellie asked, keeping her voice neutral even though her stomach tightened at the implication that she was right and there was still another power at work.

  “I don’t know,” Isa replied with a frustrated sigh. “Like I said, I don’t want to make assumptions and I don’t believe in concepts such as mind control, but when Gevandar asked where you were, something inside of me encouraged me to tell him how to find you.”

  “Okay, that’s not freaky or anything,” Ellie muttered under her breath. Once again her thoughts returned to her grandmother, Andryvessa, but again, she pushed them aside. Andryvessa needed to kill her host to keep a physical form and avoid passing completely into death. This was different.

  “I’m telling you this not just as a mother who is repentant for her mistakes, but as a mother who is concerned about the safety of her daughter. There is much your father could not tell me of the Eidyn people, your history, or the Kyroibi, but in the brief time in which I carried your developing form, I was able to sense that there was much more than what anyone was letting on. I’m worried, Ellie. Something is out there, and I want to make sure you are prepared for every eventuality.”

  “I’m trying to be,” she assured, cautiously gauging her mother’s state. It was clear that Isa had felt something, perhaps she’d even known the moment Ellie was in danger. But pressing her for more information would prove fruitless, considering the queen was nearly as stubborn as her daughter. “I’ll start now,” she added, excusing herself from her mother’s presence.

  All she really wanted was to take a long nap. Though her morning excursion to Cald had only been a few hours earlier, it felt as if she’d spent days in the assembly chamber. Nevertheless, there was an attack to plan and what amounted to very little time in which to do so. As such, Ellie headed out to find the others, her mind already racing.

  The area just outside the palace was jammed wall to wall with people. Many Eidyn, but a good number she recognized from the news programs, which meant going out the main entrance was out of the question. The side entrance wasn’t any better since she would have to
pass Magorium, which at that hour was sure to be filled with curiosity seekers and even more reporters.

  “Can you not shift as the rest of the Eidyssic?”

  Mikk stood next to Ellie, again cloaked in the simple garments of a farmer, including the wide brimmed hat that obscured her features behind the sunshade.

  “I couldn’t before, but now…” She closed her eyes and screwed up her face in concentration. Nothing happened. “I guess not.”

  “What about the shield?” Mikk suggested.

  “I think I’d look a bit weird walking around in full armor.”

  “Weird, yes, but unrecognizable as the mysterious Eidyn Master that everyone out there is clamoring to speak with.”

  “I believe I can add to the illusion.”

  Ellie’s heart gave a flutter as Julian joined them, disguised as a stooped and wizened Eidyssic elder in midnight blue. He handed Ellie a shimmering cloak of pale gray, similar to that worn by the Eidyn council’s escort guardians.

  “I guess it’s worth a shot,” she said with a shrug, allowing the exo-shield to manifest over her face and extending back around to contain her hair, happy that she’d decided to braid it back earlier. As long as she kept her hands hidden within the folds of her cloak, not even those with an eagle eye would be able to tell for sure it was her.

  “Have either of you seen my father?” she asked once they reached the relative safety of the transit station.

  “I believe both Sir Richard and Former Master El’iadryov have accompanied Leader Ka’griannas to the safe house in Turss,” Mikk supplied. “Your lady mother did not afford us much time to prove ourselves capable and I believe they are hoping to get an immediate start.”

  “That was my plan as well,” Ellie noted. “But in order for this to work, we’re going to need to recruit some fighters. Those familiar with the layout of the land, naturally, but I’d like to approach some of the Eidyssic pilots as well. We may have better odds of survival than most. Although,” she added, noting the Eidyssic milling about the terminal did not seem to be fooled by her disguise at all, “I’d prefer not to ask anyone who would say yes out of blind loyalty or faith in some archaic pecking order. Also, I’d like to see exactly what this armor can withstand before we go barreling into the most dangerous planet in the system.”

  “You have no need to worry about the strength of your exo-shield,” Julian noted as they boarded the train. “You not only blocked, but also neutralized an acidicae bolt.”

  “I know Gevandar meant to kill me, but I won’t simply assume this armor is impervious to everything.”

  “An acidicae bolt is an incendiary made specifically to do as much damage to a silica-based lifeform with the most pain possible,” Julian elaborated with no outward emotion, but Ellie could see the anger roiling just below the surface. “Everything may indeed be a broad assumption, but I do not believe there will be much even in the wilds of Fhasmyr as caustic.”

  “Gresch,” Mikk muttered, throwing her small frame into an available seat. “On my honor, Ellie, I’ll see him destroyed.”

  “I believe you will,” Ellie said with a smirk as she too took a seat.

  In a matter of minutes, they were back in Turss. No one paid them any mind as they weaved their way through the crowded square.

  “Sounds like Commander Vonsse has already begun the recruitment process,” Mikk noted as they stepped inside the foyer leading up to Gri’s apartment. To Ellie, the chatter of several separate conversations in a small space reminded her of evenings at MochaMoka and she had to push down a twinge of homesickness before following Mikk and Julian up the stairs.

  The previously cozy living room set up from their first meeting was gone, replaced by a fully equipped ready room, complete with star maps and strategic planning boards. Mikk was right, the room appeared to be twice as full. Ellie recognized Bethany and the Blue Crew, Vitokk and Vonsse, Ka’griannas, both of her fathers, and Pendren, but in addition were several more Eidyssic, a number of SiFa nationals wearing the badge of the Universal Protectorate, and a couple of heavily cloaked young men who Ellie suspected were aligned with the Paisreatta.

  Vitokk nodded a greeting and gestured to a table off to the side piled high with paper bags overflowing with what must have been Korghetian takeout containers.

  “Grab a meal, it’s going to be a long night.”

  “Oh, yes! Traditional Vaposh!” Mikk squealed as she took one of the foil containers and moved to the far edge of the room. Seconds later, Pouns popped out of her front pocket and leapt to the floor, assuming his full stature as he begged for food.

  Ellie grabbed a container that had a noodle dish not dissimilar to lo mien and moved off to another empty seat, shaking her head as Mikk used the lid of her container as a plate so she could share her meal. Julian ignored the food and went to speak with Gri and her fathers.

  “If we’re all ready, I’d like to begin with some basic strategy and what to expect, your majesties,” Vonsse said, addressing both Mikk and Ellie.

  “You don’t need my permission,” Ellie said. “I may have been the one who fought Leadership to get here, but you and Mikk are the experts. Consider me a recruit. I’ll do whatever it is I am asked to do.”

  “And I am starving, so please do get started, commander,” Mikk said between mouthfuls of meat chunks dripping with dayglow orange sauce.

  “Very well then.” He pulled up a 3D map of Fhasmyr, centering in on a city island surrounded by a wall of energy. Ellie correctly assumed this was the capital city, which was now being used as a prison for nearly all of the SiFa citizens. “To most effectively and efficiently strike, we will need to send a team to the planet, who will then infiltrate the prison city and disable communications before taking out the guard towers. Once communications are disabled, we suspect the sentinel ships to begin defensive maneuvers.”

  A simulation ran, showing Alliance ships in green striking the towers. Red Imperial ships immediately began to cluster around the city, creating a dome above the shield.

  “This is why we will need our air strike at the ready. We need to draw the guard ships away long enough to get into the city, to the transport hangar, and recruit as many pilots as we can to take back control of Fhasmyrric airspace.”

  Bethany stood and examined the model, narrowing her eyes as she took it in from all angles.

  “I’m going out on a limb here, but my spidey sense tells me that was a deceptively simple explanation of what we’re up against.”

  “More than you know,” Vonsse said with a knowing look. He zoomed out on the simulation until he had a 3D map of the full SiFa microsystem. Several dozen satellites orbited Fhasmyr, ranging in size from large boulders to moon sized. “We’re going to need a battle station from which we can make snap decisions and on the spot judgement calls.”

  “Okay, you weren’t joking when you said everything will kill you,” Ellie quipped in awe. “Seriously, how do you keep these smaller rocks from striking the planet?”

  “We can’t,” Mikk said with a too casual shrug. “That’s one of the many reasons our cities are mostly located in river valleys. Early settlers built cities near the base of mountain ranges, but with nearly every range containing a number of active volcanoes, that plan was abandoned. I do not say lightly that we are survivors.”

  “Sat 71 is habitable,” Vitokk noted, pointing to one of the larger and more spherical satellites. “It ain’t pleasant what with the sulfuric exosphere, but we’ve got filters and it’s a great literal smoke screen. Ain’t no one going to find us unless they know what they’re looking for.”

  Vonsse looked as if he was going to be ill. “You do realize the filters will do nothing for the constant odor of sulfur.”

  Vitokk just shrugged. “I’ve lived in New York for the last forty something years. A little rotten egg won’t kill nobody.”

  “Okay, hold up,” Bethany cut in, making a ‘T’ with her hands. “First, boss or not, I ain’t gonna listen to anyone diss my city. A
nd second, when you say filters, what’s that mean for me?”

  “Fhasmyrric moons are too small to inhabit directly, so we’d take a station carrier to use as our base of operations,” Re’geya assured her. “The station carrier will simulate the attributes of a planet habitable by a standard organic lifeform.”

  Ellie watched the exchange in silent confusion, sliding a questioning glance at Bethany, who gave a brief explanation. “Your home turf ain’t made for us squishier beings, but I can’t go through the process to alter my metabolism until my current implants fully heal.”

  “I’ll pretend I know what that means and look it up later,” Ellie said, turning back to the group. “Okay, so aside from the need to bring a butt-load of air fresheners, are there any other drawbacks to this moon?”

  “Yes. A pretty big one,” Julian said, turning the tablet screen so that everyone could see what he was looking at. “It no longer exists.”

  “What is that?” Ellie asked, noting the map on Julian’s screen seemed to be similar to that on the table, except with about half the satellites.

  “Real time footage from one of the Eidyssic relay stations. It seems the Empire has developed light duty disintegration missiles.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “Why waste the resources armoring your ships and teaching your navigators how to be full-fledged pilots when you can just blast your way through space like a bull in a china shop?” Vitokk answered. “I’d applaud them for making our life easier, but now we’ve got two problems in that not only do we still need a base of operations, but we’re sitting ducks if they’ve still got a destroyer out there.”

  “Not if they don’t see us,” Bryotonnae said as he added Julian’s data to Vonsse’s star maps. “We’re mostly pilots here, are we not? Stealth ships will get us to the surface before the imperial watchmen even know we’ve approached the microsystem.”