by Henry Vogel
The trouble is, not all fippers are content to work through the political process. The organization has a radical fringe that believes humans simply can't live in peace with any other intelligent species, and their most fanatical people have become terrorists, smuggling illegal weapons onto primitive worlds and stirring up native rebellions and massacres in hopes of driving the human colonists out.
The political wing of AFIP officially disavows the terrorists, of course. But now I had a pretty good idea of where Thor and Freya had come from and why they were here.
Raoul didn't know their full plan, and I doubt if even he would have gone along with it if he had. But they'd promised him the throne of Tarteg in exchange for his help using the Tartegian Navy to transport their bands of armed trogs around the world, and while Raoul thought Thor and Freya were crazy and their plan would never work, he'd convinced himself it was worth it to pretend to throw in with them, in order to win the throne before everything went to hell.
I agreed with Raoul that Thor and Freya's plan was doomed to failure. I disagreed that he'd ever had a chance of winning the throne of Tarteg. But a lot of trogs and humans were going to die before Thor and Freya were stopped, if someone didn't stop the madness before it got started.
Someone had to fight for trogs and humans alike. Someone had to make Thor and Freya answer for the laws they'd broken and the people they'd murdered.
That someone was me, David Rice, Prince Consort to Her Royal Highness Princess Callan of Mordan. And, not coincidentally, Scout First Class of the Terran Federation Exploration Corps.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Callan
Ducking back down below the piece of wreckage we’d anchored the pinnace to, I said, “Everyone stay down and out of sight! That strange airship is coming this way and we don’t want any members of the crew spotting people moving around down here.”
“We’re in a desert, Your Highness and haven’t sufficient provisions to reach civilization,” Mrs. Sune complained. “Surely surrender is a reasonable alternative!”
“Mrs. Sune, do you truly believe these people will simply hold you in accustomed comfort until a proper ransom can be arranged?” I didn’t even try to keep the incredulity out of my voice. “Have you even bothered to take a look at the wreckage all around you?”
“Airships crash all the time,” the woman persisted. “For all you know, those people in that strange airship rescued the survivors!”
“Madam, those people intentionally wrecked three airships of the Mordanian Navy last night, including my own ship. Were it not for my husband’s ability to Boost, I would have died in that crash. Our three-man crew did die.” I hissed while stalking toward the merchant’s wife. From the way the woman retreated before me, I’ve no doubt I came with eyes blazing. “On top of that, those people sent trogs armed with blaster rifles to attack and capture the survivors of the airship that came closest to their base. I watched the trogs gun down disoriented and wounded men who never even knew they were under attack. Then they rounded up the healthiest survivors and took them prisoner.”
Mrs. Sune’s retreat stopped when I backed her against the pinnace. I kept coming until I stood nose-to-nose with her.
“P-perhaps they’ll treat civilians decently? After all, we won’t be trying to attack them!”
“If you wish to take your chances with those people, I can assure you neither the Cochrans nor I will stop you—but don’t count on your civilian status to protect you.” I drew a finger across my throat and added, “The two galactics in charge of those people slit the throats of ten of their fellow galactic.”
The blood drained from Mrs. Sune’s face and she rather dramatically fainted. Mr. Sune, caught unprepared, utterly failed to catch his wife as she collapsed.
I spun away from the pair, only to find Mrs. Cochran’s abnormally pale face staring at me as she pulled Sasha close to her. “Did these people truly murder their own co-workers?”
I nodded, releasing a long sigh. “They will not get the opportunity to do the same to us, Mrs. Cochran. Once that airship returns to its base, we’ll find your husband and David. Barring that, we’ll find one of the other Mordanian wrecks and rally the survivors. By the time the Terran Federation arrives on the scene, I fully expect we’ll have this situation well in hand.”
We all fell silent as the airship drew closer. Six pairs of eyes—Mrs. Sune resolutely maintained her faint—stared out of the shade cast by the wreck, watching for Raoul’s strange vessel. Seconds later, the airship flew into view and I released the breath I’d been holding. The ship was a good mile from our hiding place and driving hard on our old course. A couple of minutes later, it flew out of sight and we settled down to wait for darkness.
Hours later, with the sun descending, we heard the distant sound of the airship returning. We never even spotted it and soon the sound faded away entirely. As the light faded, we winched the envelope back to its normal flying position, released the anchors, and Jade took us up.
Our young pilot made a beeline for the last place we’d seen the Wind Dancer. Gasps rose from all four Cochrans when we caught sight of the wrecked merchant ship.
“Is Daddy all right?” Sasha asked her mother, her voice fearful.
“I’m sure he is, honey,” Mrs. Cochran replied as she blinked away tears.
A small crowd gathered as the pinnace reached the wreck. The Cochrans relaxed just a bit when they caught sight of Captain Cochran hobbling around with a makeshift crutch. My own heart slowly rose into my throat as I looked in vain for any sign of David.
As soon as Jade cut the power to the propeller, I leaned over the railing and called, “Where is David? Is he all right?”
“Don’t you worry, Your Highness!” Captain Cochran called. “Your husband is fine. He’s gone out to scout the enemy’s base, is all.”
“Oh, yes, that news is such a relief, Captain Cochran. Thank you ever so much.”
“You’re more than welcome, Your Highness!” Cochran’s hearty response contrasted sharply with my own dry tone.
Mrs. Cochran laid a hand on my shoulder. “Sarcasm is wasted on men at times like these, Callan.”
Jade tied quick-release knots through a ring using two lengths of rope. She dropped the two ropes off each side of the pinnace and the crew slowly pulled the pinnace toward the ground. To the Sunes' consternation, the little airship’s keel struck desert while the railing was still six feet off the ground. A dozen crewmen helped the couple climb down without falling. Mrs. Cochran handed Sasha down while Will simply jumped. Then Jade and I helped Mrs. Cochran down into the waiting hands of the crew.
Throughout this process, Captain Cochran filled me in on what happened leading up to and after the crash. I felt a pang of regret at the news of Raoul’s death, though more for the sorrow it would cause Rupor than for the Spare Prince, himself.
“You’re next, Your Highness,” Captain Cochran said.
“I’m not getting off here,” I said. “Jade can give me a quick lesson in piloting this thing and then I’m going after my husband. Perhaps I can catch him before he reaches that mountain. Then the two of us will go in search of other Mordanian survivors.”
“David said you’d insist on doing just that,” Cochran said, “but he wants you to stay here. I promised him I’d keep you safe until he returns.”
“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep, Captain,” I replied. I leaned over the railing and added, “You’re a married man. Does your wife always do what you say?”
The crew laughed and their captain joined in with them. Jade stepped up next to me, grinning and clapping me on the back.
“Hey, Dad,” she called over the laughter, “catch!”
Then Jade shoved me over the railing and into the waiting arms of the crew.
“Well done, daughter!” Cochran said. “Now—Jade! What do you think you’re doing?”
Staring straight up from the arms of the crew, I had a great view as Jade pulled her two quick-release kn
ots. As the ropes slipped free, the pinnace shot up another ten feet.
“It’s simple, Dad. Callan is right that someone should go find David,” Jade smile and wave at us. “But that someone should be an experienced pilot.”
I couldn’t fault the girl’s logic, just her choice in pilots. “Jade, there’s bound to be someone else who can pilot that pinnace just as well as you can! Don’t do this to your parents!”
“I know what David looks like but you don’t know what my boyfriend looks like. I’m the only one who will keep an eye out for Forbose.” Jade engaged the propellers and the pinnace swung around toward the mountain off in the distance. “Don’t worry! I promise I’ll be careful!”
The girl’s father, mother, and I all yelled, “Jade, no!”
Then the pinnace sped off in pursuit of my husband and Jade’s boyfriend.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
David
Just before night fell, the last rays of sunlight streaming over the mountains glinted off of something in the air far ahead of me. The object’s speed left no doubt it was the anti-grav airship, now under the command of the self-proclaimed god of thunder. Considering the man had a weather control machine, I guess there was some merit to his claim. Still, his hubris rubbed me the wrong way. Since coming to Aashla, I’ve precipitated the downfall of princes, criminal underlords, and space pirates. It was time to add a pair of false gods to the list.
The desert floor was fully dark and the dust the sand schooner threw into the air merged into the mountains behind me. With luck, spotting it from such a distance would be all but impossible. As I watched the airship speed through the darkening sky, the implications of its course hit me like one of Thor’s proverbial thunderbolts. The airship’s flight path traced back to the course the Wind Dancer’s pinnace took when Jade piloted it and its precious cargo away from the doomed merchant ship! Without Raoul—well known for his obsession with me—in command of the airship, Thor obviously set off after the pinnace. But could they catch it after all the time spent chasing the Dancer? Did Jade alter her course once her ship was out of sight of the chase?
I knew in my bones Callan would have advocated a course change in the hopes of learning how the pursuit of the Wind Dancer ended. Did they end up flying right into the path of the other airship? Were Callan, Jade, and the rest of the passengers now prisoners on the very airship my eyes tracked across the sky?
The logical part of my brain interrupted this worrisome emotional train of thought. It combined what I knew of the fipper fringe mindset with what I knew about Raoul. From allowing Raoul to pursue me to abandoning and killing Raoul when he found himself unable to capture me, Thor’s actions struck me as surprisingly Raoul-like in nature. So, what would Raoul do if he captured Callan and Captain Cochran’s family? Without a doubt, Raoul would return to the wrecked Wind Dancer, both to gloat and to force my surrender. Logically, that meant Thor did not hold Callan and the others captive.
Logic and emotion argued back and forth, with neither fully suppressing the other. In the end, I tried my best to push the question from my mind and concentrate on getting into Thor’s base. And that problem kept my mind busy for the rest of my ride. That ride took me past the ruins of our original airship. Though the crash happened the previous night, it felt as long ago as the morning we’d set out on our tour of the research stations.
I steered the sand schooner toward a patch of scraggly bushes at the base of the mountain, lowering the sail as I rolled up to it. I resisted the urge to charge headlong up the mountain and spent half an hour partially dismantling the schooner and hiding it as best I could in the bushes. By the time I was finished, it wasn’t likely the schooner would be spotted from the air, though a foot patrol would find it easily enough. Without a backward glance, I started up the mountain.
I was most definitely not returning to the cave I visited hours ago during the morning. It was watched and also was, according to Raoul, a trap just waiting for me to step into it. He told me of another entrance, one I could reach by circling around the mountain in the opposite direction from the cave. I knew nothing else beyond Raoul’s brief directions as he rushed to tell me as much as possible before dying from Boost Burnout.
Unsure what awaited me, I spiraled up the mountain, angling well away from the cave mouth. I’ll be honest, the climb nearly did me in. In normal circumstances, I’d have slept for hours after my Boosted run up the other side of this same mountain to catch up to the Wind Dancer as she passed over the mountaintop. Instead, I got almost fifteen entire minutes of rest before Callan was forced to wake me up. Since then, I’d remained on the go and even Boosted a second time for my duel with Raoul. My muscles ached and I desperately wanted to curl up under some bushes and sleep until sunrise. But I had to view this other entrance to their base before resting so I’d at least know what I was up against when I woke up.
So I stumbled and staggered up and around the mountain, past piles of boulders and more of the slippery screes that are all over this wasteland of a mountain. I found myself stopping for a rest every thirty minutes. Then it was every twenty minutes. Soon, I was resting five minutes out of every fifteen and struggling mightily to stay awake. But I finally found myself approaching the back side of the mountain and staggering toward its crest.
That’s when I heard trog voices coming from around a bend in the trail. Realizing they were heading my way, I looked about for a place to hide. In an unsurprising end to a day in which very little had gone right for me, I was caught in the middle of a large patch of barren mountainside. With trogs only a few dozen yards away, I had no place to hide.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Callan
Mrs. Cochran watched the pinnace speed off into the gathering darkness. “Lon, what are we going to do? I can’t lose my girl!”
Captain Cochran put an arm around his wife and gave her a squeeze. “Pray and hope, Nell.”
Without bothering to lower her voice, Mrs. Sune said, “Well, I’m hardly surprised. Her parents let her run wild around the ship, doing men’s work and wearing men’s clothing. I mean, pants? I ask you!”
Mrs. Cochran stiffened and her husband whispered to her, “Ignore the woman, Nell. It won’t help Jade. On top of that, we may not have a ship right now, but when our new one is built we’ll sail under the Oshwindon flag.”
“No, Captain Cochran,” I said, “you’ll sail under the Mordanian flag unless you choose otherwise.” The Captain looked at me in surprise, I added, “All fees waived and without waiting in the lists.”
Cochran kissed his wife’s hand lovingly. “In that case, if it will make you feel better, Nell, please give the Sunes a taste of the temper you’ve held in check these last two weeks.”
The Sunes were already backing away from the couple as a ghost of a smile crossed Mrs. Cochran’s face. “I’ve already said enough. Besides, it won’t help Jade.” She looked at one of the crewmen arrayed rather menacingly behind the nervous couple. “Mister Yarrow, please take the Sunes somewhere where decent folk can neither see nor hear them. I don’t want to catch sight of them again before my daughter is safely returned.”
“Aye aye, ma’am.” The second-in-command took the Sunes in hand, leading them away from us. Over his shoulder, he added, “Don’t you worry about Miss Jade, ma’am. She’s a smart and capable young lady.”
“Thank you, Mister Yarrow,” she replied.
“And don’t forget that David is out there,” I said. “If she does find him, rest assured he’ll take care of her.”
Mrs. Cochran’s tentative smile returned, “Well, that would certainly please Jade no end! But my daughter can be quite headstrong and impulsive—she might be more than your husband can handle.”
“She sounds remarkably like someone David knows extremely well.” I smiled at the Cochran’s puzzled expressions. “Jade sounds like me. David has managed to keep me alive through many trials and tribulations. He’ll do the same for your daughter.”
The Cochrans looked o
ff into the darkness as if hoping for one last glimpse of the pinnace and its pilot. When they turned back to face me, it was as the captain and lady of the Wind Dancer. They issued orders and, within minutes, had a cooking fire and a larger signal fire burning.
Young Will eyed the fires with concern. “Should we have fires, Callan? In all the adventure stories Jade read to me and the ones I read for myself, the hero never builds a fire at night because it will give away his position to the bad guys.”
I laid a hand on the lad’s shoulder. “The bad guys already know where we are, Will. They’re the ones who crashed your family’s airship.”
“Right… So Daddy—“ The boy gave me a sidelong glance at the use of the word for his father. “So, um, Dad hopes some good guys spot the fire?”
“Exactly. And you know you don’t have to be ashamed of calling your father ‘Daddy.’ I still use that name for my father.”
“Yeah, but you’re a girl,” Will scoffed.
I suppressed a laugh. “Well, I can’t argue with that logic! Don’t worry, Will, your little slip of the tongue is safe with me.”
Then Mrs. Cochran called the boy to help her prepare dinner. When I volunteered to help, the woman shook her head in horror at my suggestion. “Goodness, Your Highness, what kind of hosts do you take us for?”
“Practical ones, I hope,” I said. “Look, Nell—may I call you Nell?”
“Of course, Your Highness!”
“Thank you. And you must remember to call me Callan.” I looked at all the activity going on around me. “Nell, you’ve got more to do than you have hands to do it. There’s no sense in having one pair of hands sitting idle just because they’re at the end of a princess’s arms.” Nell hesitated for a second, so I added, “Don’t make me use my princess glare on you!”
