by Frank Carey
"You have been identified as the Gweyr Flagship Aegnor under command of King Montagor. Is this correct?" a voice asked over the comm unit
"How the hell does it know who I am," the King demanded.
I whispered in his ear, "It's painted on the hull along with a picture of you leading a charge. Remember last year's birthday celebration?"
"Oh, yes of course. Open a channel," he ordered.
"Channel open, my liege."
"This is Montagor, who am I speaking with?"
"The Guardian of Ralanor. Who dared to release the sleepers?"
What the hell? "Guardian, Royce Aymar, Prince of Gweyr. I released the sleepers. May I assume you have a problem with that?"
A small ship appeared off the bow. "We're being scanned. Shields are not stopping it," the captain said.
"Royce, Prince of Gweyr. Identity and biosignature confirmed. You have been convicted of crimes against the Elf Nation. The sentence is death. You have twelve hours to present yourself to the Elf Defense Forces with identity confirmed by bioscan. Failure to do as instructed will result in annihilation of Ralanor and the ship designated Aegnor. Have a nice day." The armada disappeared.
What the hell is wrong with the universe? Why has it decided to stop at nothing to end my existence in rather grandiose ways? I looked around me and saw heads turning in my direction, including my father's. What could I say?
"By the way, father, I got betrothed last night. Her name is Losira, and she’s the ship's doctor."
Jaws dropped. I walked out.
###
The Aegnor was a floating city as well as a warship, so it had amenities not found on a normal military ship. I was standing in one of those amenities—the observation lounge—looking out upon Ventos Prime while I tried to wrap my brain around the impossibility of it all.
Not too long ago, I was your typical prince being groomed to one-day take over ruling Gweyr. I was young, inexperienced, cocky, and basically an asshole, but there was hope I would mature and become ruler material. If not, well there was Gloria, my unwilling backup. I think that's why she fled Gweyr, so she could avoid becoming queen.
Here I stood, maturity beaten into me with the hammer of life. My inexperience replaced with bruises, broken ribs, and scars too numerous to count. Where once I was cocky, I now stand wondering if I will survive the next thing fate threw at me. At least I was still an asshole, but one humbled by the decisions he has had to make. I have to say, I made the big time, though. How many people do you know who have a hundred robotic warships gunning for them? That has to be some kind of record.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not standing here planning my escape or figuring how to get my elven ass out of this particular sling. No, I am standing here wondering how the hell I was going to tell Losira her betrothed had twelve hours to live. Damn, I really have fallen for her if that's my biggest worry.
I stopped when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and a tail intertwine with mine. "Hello," Losira said as she leaned her head against my shoulder. I could smell her scent—maple syrup like they served in the Cube commissary.
"Hi," I said as I put my arm around her waist. "I take it you've heard?"
"Yeah. The comm officer is a friend of mine. She knew I had been on duty when you were brought in, so she took a shot. What are you going to do?"
"This one is beyond me. Give me a rescue operation on a dying planet any day, but this? How the hell do you deal with an armada wanting to kill you?"
"You don't do little things, do you?"
"No. Guess not. Listen, I have fallen for you hard, but I’ll understand if you don't want to be a widow..."
She put her finger against my lips. "None of that. You're going to live, we're going to be bonded, and that's that. Got it?"
We sat down on a couch, still intertwined. "Got it," I said as I watched the planet turn below us. "I need to talk to Parker. Maybe she's got an idea."
"Who's Parker?"
How does one explain Parker? "Have you read my file?"
She blushed. I guess she wasn't supposed to, but she did anyway. "Yes. You have had a very interesting last several years," she said as she ran her fingers through my hair.
"Parker Prime is the healer who put me back together after the incident in the castle. My Parker is a daemon she spun off to keep the assassin from reappearing before they could figure out a way to exorcise it from my mind. She used to live in a stylus, which never left my side. Now she's in a synth body down on the planet. It seems she is now their healer."
"So, call her," Losira said. "You're the Prince. Grab a radio."
"Don't need one," I said as I tapped a spot behind my ear. "I have a transponder implanted behind my ear. She can read my biosignature with it, and we talk via its SAC. Don't need the monitoring since the assassin was destroyed when I almost died on the planet."
She rubbed the spot for a moment before getting a real faraway look. "I've got to go for a bit. Stay here or go back to my quarters, but do not do anything stupid, understand?"
"No stupid. Got it," I said as she kissed me before running out of the lounge. "If I survive this I swear I am going to get a clue!" I said out loud to the empty room.
###
Losira ran breathless onto the bridge. Looking around, she spied the king and Captain discussing a plan of action. She walked up and stood at attention. "I beg forgiveness Captain and My Liege, but I may have a plan to save Prince Royce."
"Doctor, calm yourself," the king said as he offered her a seat. "Tell me this plan."
"Royce has a biofield monitor implanted in the back of his skull. It reads his biosignature and transmits it to Healer Parker on the surface of Ventos Prime. Sir, with a little help I think we can fool the ships out there into thinking Royce is trying to escape in his patrol ship."
The king glanced at the captain, who shook his head. "How, Doctor?"
"We send Royce's biosignature signals into a synth body which will be read as him by the robot ships. Those readings should be indistinguishable from the real thing. You've done this yourself when meeting with unfamiliar dignitaries who are never the wiser.”
"What about flying the ship?"
"That's where it gets tricky. We connect Royce to the ship's controls via a telepresence control system."
"I know you, yourself, have been working on improving the TPCS, but the technology is flaky at best," the captain noted
"Our technology is flaky, not the League's. Princess Gloria and her friend John Taggart are renowned in the field. Their work is generations ahead of ours. I need to contact them, and we don't have a lot of time."
"Captain, get Dr. Losira anything she needs and contact the Cube immediately. Let's see if Gloria and her boyfriend can pull this off."
"Boyfriend? You know, Sire?" Losira asked.
"Of course. Don't tell anyone, but my wife told me. Speaking of love, my son seemed very happy this morning. Do I have you to thank for that, Dr. Losira?"
"Yes, sir. I would like to ask..."
"You both have my blessing, child. You have brought light into his soul, and for that, I am thankful."
"My King, Doctor, we have a line open to the Cube," the captain said. "Doctor, you will be speaking with Princess Gloria." Losira walked over and sat down at the Communications Console. In the viewer was the image of an elf woman about her age. As with all elf children, Gloria's resemblance to Royce was striking. "Princess, my name is Dr. Losira. I'm your brother's...betrothed."
Gloria smiled. "Good for both of you. Father briefed me on the Armada. We've drawn a blank here. If Royce comes through the rift, he risks drawing the League into a war. If he stays he will die."
"I have an idea, Princess, but I need help from you and Dr. Taggart."
"Call me Gloria and he's John," she said as John bent down and waved into the camera. "What's your idea?"
Losira explained. When she finished both John and Gloria looked dumbstruck. "Do you think it will work?" she asked. The silent stares w
orried her.
They looked at each other. "Damn," John said. "What is your doctorate in, Losira?"
"Medicine, but I'm working on a second in Biocybernetics. I have several of your texts."
"Wow. Is Royce's ship aboard the Flagship?" John asked.
She looked at the captain who nodded an affirmative. "Aye, it’s here," he said.
"Excellent. We will be there in two hours bearing gifts. By the way, I hear congratulations are in order. Do elves have weddings?" John said.
"Sort of. We haven't set a date yet."
"Let me know when you do. Gloria is giving me stink-eye, so got to go. See you in two hours. Bye!"
The line went dead.
"I have to tell Royce," Losira said as she got up out of the chair, saluted the captain, and bowed to the king. Several of the Bridge crew hugged the walls to mark her passage.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The LTV Morpheus touched down next to the C57D and disgorged a horde of technicians and engineers carrying crates, toolboxes, and parts of every size and shape. A hatch at the rear of the ship opened to reveal a state of the art medbed with the Cube logo emblazoned on it. Losira and I stood amid the insanity, wondering what she had unleashed.
"Royce!" someone yelled from the open hatch. I looked up and saw Gloria running up with arms outstretched. She grabbed me in a hug and squeezed until I couldn't breathe. No one could say my sister ever held back her feelings. John Taggart strolled up and made introductions to the bewildered Losira.
"Dr. Losira, welcome to a typical Cube field trip," he said as he shook hands with her. "I promise we'll sweep when we're finished." He turned to Gloria who was still hugging Royce. "Honey, the poor boy needs to breathe."
Gloria let go of me and turned to Losira. "Dr. Losira, it’s good to meet you. Your idea is brilliant.”
"Thank you both. It is truly an honor to meet you. Your work is incredible."
"Aw, shucks," John said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a book. "This is a first edition of 'On the Sentient Mind.’ I had everyone in the department sign it," he said as he handed it to her.
Losira took it with trembling hands. "This is wonderful. I don't know what to say."
"Your efforts trying to save my miscreant brother already speaks volumes. Would you like a guided tour of your idea?" Gloria said taking Losira's arm and walking her over to the back of the Morpheus.
"Royce?"
My Mother stood there in the middle of it all. I could tell she was upset, so I walked over and gave her a hug. "You look worried. Gloria, John, and Losira have the situation well in hand. Does Father know you're here?"
"No. I demanded I be brought along which made Director Devlin very cross. She’s a strong woman, that one. What is going to happen? Your sister tried to explain it to me, but she lost me on the first sentence."
"Losira came up with the idea. I lay in the medbed they have in back of the Morpheus and control the C57D by remote control while my implant transmits my biosigns to a synth in the C57D's cockpit. If all works as planned, we'll fool the bot armada into thinking I'm really in there."
"Won't they notice something is amiss when they open the cockpit and see a synth?"
"Not if I attack the lead ship and force it to destroy mine. Father has re-armed her with guns and missiles."
"Destroy it? Won't that hurt you?"
"Your genius daughter, her genius boyfriend, and my genius wife-to-be, are seeing to that as we speak. Mother, I am truly sorry for all this."
She reached over and ran her fingers over my cheek as mothers do. "You have done nothing wrong. You just have a habit of stepping into the line of fire," she said.
Something about the way she said it sounded oddly familiar. "Yes, Mother. I will strive to improve my dodging skills. You should tell Father you're here. I promise, I'm not going anywhere."
As she walked off to find father, I had a nagging feeling I was forgetting something, something important, though I had no idea what. I walked over to where Gloria and John were working with Losira to see what help I could be with the project.
###
With less than an hour left, I leaned over the edge of the C57D's cockpit and made final adjustments to the controls. It was unnerving seeing the synth sitting there motionless. It was like looking in a distorted mirror and seeing a featureless reflection of me.
I looked up at the master chrono and saw there were moments left before launch. What the hell happened to the time? I jumped down to the deck only to find everyone standing in place, unmoving except for Losira who was running up to me screaming, "Royce! You need to snap out of it and save the princess!" Before I could reply, six probes from the Armada appeared and fired on me, my chest exploding in flames where the blaster bolts hit.
The universe winked out once more...
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Losira...! I thought as I came out of the hallucination. My God, how much of the medpak did Parker have to use? I've been a Marine for over twenty-years and never once had I experienced anything like that, no matter how badly wounded I was. I listened to my heartbeat, surprised there was anything to hear. I opened my eyes and saw Rachel and Muskrat's bodies lying next to me, their dead eyes accusing me of not doing more. They were right. The job wasn't finished until the civvies were safe.
“Parker, sitrep,” I said over the sub-audible comm unit.
“Sir, thank the gods you’re still alive. I had to dump the medical pack into your bloodstream to keep you alive.”
“How much?”
“All of it. You have only a few minutes of conscious left.”
“How long have I been out?”
“A few seconds. I think Rathstok, Ariel, and Eldar are going to kill the Princess and her group.”
I moved my head a fraction and saw Rathstok standing in front of Losira and her people with Ariel and Eldar flanking him, close like. All three were looking only at the princess and her entourage. And to think, I was the one who trained them. Now I was embarrassed as well as angry. I shook off the last vestiges of the dream as I made my move.
"Sir, our situation is about to be compromised. Station security is surrounding us. We need to go now!" Rathstok’s radio barked.
"Almost done, Corporal. Have everyone else fall back to the ship. We'll join you in less than five minutes. Rathstok out," the arrogant traitor said as he gloated while his lackeys giggled.
I hated giggling.
Ignoring my orders, the princess and her people stood out in the open, exposed, as if begging to be shot. If I survive this, I will have words with that woman, but for now, I had to do something and quick or risk civilian death. “Parker, weapons status?”
“All nearby energy weapons are spent, sir.”
"Princess, any last words?" Rathstok said while checking his weapon.
"Please, spare these people."
I looked at the bodies of my friends and saw they both still had their knives, good Marine knives. Two knives and a spike-tipped tail versus three heavily armed marines. It worked for me. “Hang on, Parker. I’m going to do something that is ill-advised.
"Princess, the only people leaving this room will be me and my two lieutenants," he said. He stopped when he heard the thunk of blades embedding themselves into two arrogant necks followed by the sound of two bodies hitting the floor. He turned only to find me standing there frowning, while I shot my tail through his chest. I held him there, dying, as I took his weapons. I picked him off the ground held him in front of me, feet dangling in the air as his life drained from his body.
"Royce, you're alive. How is this possible?" he whispered as he swung there, his feet held inches off the ground by a combination of anger, disgust, and a supreme feat of will.
"That's Sergeant Aymar to you, maggot. What was the one thing I tried to teach you and these two corpses when you were in my unit?"
"Never eat at a place called Mom's?"
"No, moron, always watch your six. Now, I've got a deal for you. Have
your people surrender, and I’ll let you go," I said as I gave his body a shake.
He groaned, "Okay."
I keyed his mic for him. "This is Rathstok. Lay down your arms and surrender. That's an order.”
“Aye, sir,” his lieutenant replied. I could only assume they had done what he had ordered as I was getting tired holding him
"Thank you," I said, releasing the mic. I threw him into the wall with enough force to kill him instantly. "I told you I would let you go." I reached down, retrieved his two lieutenant’s weapons, and checked their loads—they were full. I turned to the door and thumbed their safeties off.
"Sergeant, you're hurt. Stand down," Princess Losira ordered as I stood there like one of the Sentinels of the Ancients. Little did she know, I was about to pass out.
"Parker, are you sure the pack is empty?" I asked out loud.
"Sarge, we're out of everything," she said, her voice sounding sad. I think she actually liked me.
"Buck-up there, girl. You did fine today. It has been an honor to serve with you. Princess, please get under cover. I hear people coming."
"What about you?"
"Princess, I have a simple role in life: I protect you. Please, get behind the barrier. The barbarians were at the door.” Damn, I was getting poetic. Not a good sign.
Losira walked over to Rachel and Muskrat and pulled their pistols from underneath their bodies. She checked their load status before standing next to me and facing the open door.
"And what do you think you're doing, Your Highness?" I asked carefully, while eying the door.
"Saving your sorry ass, mister," she replied as she turned to her group. "Cover! Now!" she barked in a tone reminiscent of a drill sergeant I once served under. Seeing everyone safely hidden, she turned back to the door, guns raised, waiting. "So, Parker dumped the medical pack. Doesn't that mean your days as a Marine are over?" she asked as if she were talking about the weather.
"Yep," I replied. "Regulations state that a Space Marine can only have one trip down med-pack lane. After that, it's out to pasture." I looked down at my two friends and realized I was pretty much through with watching people die, especially the ones I cared for.
