by Henry Vogel
My knot of tension tightened once again. “Can you see why he’s chasing them, Lieutenant?”
“I’m looking, Your Highness, but—” Tucker froze for an interminable second, his glass locked on something far beyond my unaided sight. “Good God, it’s the Vanguard’s ensigns, the ship’s boys, and a young woman! An officer must have ordered them away before the battle began, but they’re too tired to run fast. If Thor’s men catch them, they’ll negotiate the lives of the youngsters against their own freedom!”
“Does the crew of the Vanguard have their situation well in hand?” I asked.
Jorson swung his spyglass back to the wrecked airship. “They do, Your Highness. Shall we go to Captain Rice’s aid?”
“Yes, Captain, and at all possible speed,” I replied, silently praying we could reach David in time.
“Mister Carson!” Jorson called across the deck. “We need all the speed you can coax from the engines!”
“Aye aye, sir!” Carson said, unabashed glee evident in his voice. “And thank you, sir!”
The roar of the engines increased immediately. The airship’s big propellers thrummed louder as they spun faster and faster. To my surprise, I had to catch hold of the railing to keep from losing my balance as the big airship surged forward. The Vanguard’s crew waved as we passed overhead, cheering us onward.
I raised a hand to shield my eyes as I squinted into the bright morning sunlight. I made out a single figure—David, of course—standing between the mob of men and the children. Then, to my horror, the men sprang toward my husband!
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
David
Incited by someone who wasn’t on the front line, the men before me raised their swords and charged. With Boost-supplied adrenaline still burning through my veins, I leapt forward with quickness impossible for normal men. My sword flashed in the morning light as I swung it at the nearest attacker. The man’s battle cry turned to a gurgle as my razor-sharp blade sliced through his throat. Hot blood sprayed into the air, adding more red stains to my already-ruined clothes. I carried the stroke past the dying man and cut the arm of the man next to him down to the bone. He stumbled aside, screaming, as I danced back out of range of the slow counter-attacks aimed at me.
My feet shuffled through the sand and rocks, giving me another idea. Digging a foot into the loose ground, I kicked up at the mob in front of me. Sand, dust, and rocks pelted the men before me and several of them clapped hands to their eyes. I lunged at one, driving a foot of bloody blade into his gut. Twisting the blade, I pulled it free. I saw the man’s eyes go wide in shock before the fight drew my attention elsewhere.
Skipping backward again, I parried two attacks but was unable to find the time to return the attack. From the corner of my eye, I saw the bright glint of steel on my right side and one of my attackers fell as a sword stabbed completely through his thigh. Another flash came from my left and the other attacker barely managed to parry a thrust aimed at his heart. Then the crack of blaster rifles opened up behind us and men on both of our far flanks fell before the shooting of Jade and the ship’s boy.
“Sorry we’re late, sir,” Chris said from my right. “We had a tad more ground to cover than you did.”
A quick glance to either side showed Chris and the other three ensigns from the Vanguard standing beside me. All four wore the set expressions of frightened young men determined to master their fear and do their duty.
“It’s good to have you men by my side,” I said, hoping my calm appreciation of their aid might settle their nerves a bit. “All we have to do is hold our line until the Tercel arrives.”
I shuffled forward on the loose terrain and feinted a low thrust against the man before me. As soon as his sword dipped, I reversed direction and sliced upward. Instinctively, the man pulled his hips back to protect his groin and presented his chest to my blade. It sliced through clothing and skin, opening a deep gash from his stomach to his breastbone.
As I stepped back into line with the ensigns, another round of blaster bolts burned the men trying to work their way around our line. I said, “Don’t worry overmuch about the flanks, men. It seems our companions have that well in hand.”
The mob spread out before us and the men on the far ends edged their way forward in an attempt to fully encircle us all.
To either side of me, the young men held their line, showing just how effective a little discipline and teamwork can be against a mob. But that advantage would vanish as soon as our enemies flanked us.
“Fall back toward Jade and the ship’s boys, lads,” I ordered. “Take it steady and maintain discipline.”
Blades clashed and flashed and it seemed I was the only one able to score an effective hit. Then the Ensign on the far left gave a cry and stumbled backward. His sword fell from fingers that refused to obey his commands and his free hand clapped over a deep cut in his shoulder. The man who cut him raised a fist and yelled in triumph—then a blaster bolt struck him in the forehead and he slowly toppled backward.
Behind me, Jade muttered, “Take that, you son of a-”
Jade’s next word was drowned out by screams from both sides of us. Looking to my left, I saw a massive ballista bolt impaling four men. More men lay bleeding and screaming along the bolt’s path. A quick glance to the right showed a similar scene. Then men before me cried out and pitched to the ground, crossbow quarrels sticking out of them.
Over the screams, I clearly heard Captain Jorson bellow, “Marines, away! Crossbowmen, reload and fire at will!”
The Tercel was here!
With a full-throated roar, the airship’s Marine contingent swung down to attack. Each of them released their rope on the upswing. They flew at our enemies’ rear line, swords raised and teeth bared. Landing just outside of sword-thrust range, the Marines waded into the poorly trained men with obvious relish. Then another hail of crossbow quarrels rained down on the remnants of Thor’s army and more men cried and fell.
Jorson’s voice cut through the din of battle easily. “Any man who drops his sword and goes to his knees will not be harmed!”
Almost as one, the men before us released their weapons and dropped to the ground. Two men didn’t get the message and the Marines cut them down. And then the fight was over.
Dropping Boost, I rushed to the wounded Ensign and eased him down to the ground. He struggled gamely not to cry, but tears shone in his eyes.
“Captain, we need a doctor!” I called.
“He’s on his way, sir,” Jorson responded.
“Are you hurt, David?” Callan’s lilting voice carried over the after-battle noise as Jorson’s did.
“I’m fine, dear, thanks to Chris and the other ensigns.”
“Chris?” Callan cried in wonder. “He’s alive?”
“I am Your Highness,” Chris responded. “Please forgive me if my actions caused you any distress!”
Then Dr. Mach bustled up and bent over the wounded Ensign. Cutting away the young man’s shirt, Mach said jovially, “Ah, that’s going to leave quite the lovely scar, Ensign Parnel. The young ladies are going to be very impressed!”
Looking up, Mach quietly added, “I need to close that wound now. I’m afraid I’m going to need a couple of men to hold the lad still.”
Chris dropped to his knees next to his fellow Ensign. “Just tell me what to do, sir.”
Perhaps remembering the somewhat queasy young Ensign he’d seen at the start of it all, Mach eyed Chris critically. “Are you sure you’re up to it, Ensign?”
Chris returned the doctor’s gaze calmly. “Of course, sir.”
Mach gave a quick nod. “Yes, I believe you are.”
Minutes later, with the Ensign’s wound tightly stitched, the doctor oversaw lifting the wounded young man up to the Tercel. Chris and I rose to feet and found ourselves confronted by the only two women present. Callan ran her eyes over me, no doubt assuring herself I really was unhurt. Jade skipped that step and grabbed Chris in a fierce hug.
As m
y wife wrapped her arms around me, she watched the teenagers with a smile. “I think they make a lovely couple, don’t you, darling?”
I nodded. “And they managed to find each other without any help from you or your mother.”
Just as I bent close to kiss Callan, there was a flash of light from the mountain behind us. Its ground shook and, seconds later, we heard the sound of a massive explosion!
CHAPTER THIRTY
Callan
David and I whirled to face the mountain a few miles off. Dust billowed all about Thor’s base, blocking our view. The wind slowly carried the dust away, revealing the mountaintop in time for us to see some of the surface crumble and collapse in on itself.
“It looks like someone collapsed the cave entrance we discovered…” David’s voice trailed off for a moment. “God, can it only have been yesterday morning?”
I took out the comm the Marine had taken from Thor and stared at it. “Was any of this really worth dying for, Freya?”
David cocked his head, eying the comm. “Where did-”
I realized I hadn’t turned off the comm when Freya’s voice issued from it. “You’re right, little princess, none of this was worth my life. It was worth a lot of other people’s lives, though. In that light, I’m sure you can understand why I wasn’t in that ridiculous mountain base.”
I stared at the comm unit with incredulity. “No, Freya, I can’t understand any of this.”
David gently took the comm from me and spoke into it. “This whole situation is extremely convoluted and expensive—especially for an AFIP operation. You guys are usually quite straightforward—find a way to arm the primitives and then attack the nearest human city. I didn’t even know AFIP had the skill and resources to do something as delicate as implant surgery.”
Freya laughed merrily, “Yes, the fippers are a depressingly direct bunch of idiots. And no, left to themselves they couldn’t have stolen working diplomatic and military implants, much less surgically installed them. They were quite happy to have a ‘recruit’ who could do both. Thor was happy to finally have a lover who shared his beliefs. And that exiled princeling was quite excited to get his implant. Men are so easy to manipulate—dangle power, sex, or revenge before them and they’ll fall all over themselves to do your bidding. I’m sure the little princess knows exactly what I mean. I’ve seen how you fawn over her, Rice.”
Confusion spread over David’s face. “You’re not a fipper?”
“My, you are slow on the uptake. And here I thought you Scouts were supposed to be smart. Maybe all that honor, oath, duty, and trustworthiness dulls the mind,” Freya said, her voice thick with condescension. “Why don’t you be a good little man and hand the comm back to the princess.”
I took the comm back from David. “I don’t know who you think you are, you pathetic woman, but you do not threaten my planet, kill my people, and insult my husband! You sound just like one of those supercilious galactic diplomats I’ve dealt with ever since Aashla established contact with the Terran Federation. You expect us to fall all over ourselves to get our hands on your cast off technological baubles and then act surprised and offended when we don’t sign over all of our mineral rights for a pile of cheap crap. You and your kind make me sick.”
“A very impassioned speech, little princess. No wonder everyone either loves or loathes you,” Freya replied. “Anyway, it’s been fun chatting but now it’s time for me to get on with my real mission.”
“You do realize you’re going to stand out here on Aashla,” I said. “You don’t know our customs and you sure the hell don’t understand a woman’s position in this world.”
“You’d be amazed how much information the Federation has gathered on your world, little princess,” Freya sneered, “and it’s all stored in my implant. So don’t you worry about me—I’ll fit right in.”
I laughed at Freya and it was not a pleasant sound. “Thank you, Freya. We’d have caught you eventually, but now I know we’ll have you within a day or two.”
“Nice try, princess, but I know better,” Freya said. “I might die from bad luck—barbaric worlds like yours have all sorts of ways to kill—but no one will capture me. I’m just that good at what I do.”
“I’m sure you’ll believe that right up until you find yourself standing before me in the Mordanian Court,” I said. “Then I’ll teach you the true meaning of barbaric. You will beg me for the blessed release of death before I’m finished with you.”
I thumbed the comm unit off and dropped it in a pocket. Looking up, I found David, Jade, and Chris staring at me.
“What?” I asked.
A leer spread across David’s face. “God, you’re sexy when you play the barbaric princess!”
Chris and Jade blushed bright crimson and quickly turned away.
“I wasn’t playing, David—at least not entirely. That woman has a lot to pay for and I am going to collect her debt.” I said. Running a finger lazily down David’s arm, I flashed my best sultry smile and added, “But I’ll be happy to treat you to a night of enthusiastic barbarism when we get home.”
“But how are you going to capture one woman out of millions?” David asked. “That’s hard enough on a Federation world where everyone carries identification and every transaction leaves a digital footprint. But here-”
“Even though you’ve lived here for nine years, David, sometimes you still think like a Federation citizen,” I said. “Freya admitted she has an implant and the Federation has sensors capable of finding anyone with one.”
“Sure they can, but the implants don’t broadcast the owner’s identity,” David said. “Do you have any idea how many people have implants?”
“On your home world, millions,” I said. “On Aashla, eighty-six. Eighty-seven if you count Freya.”
David’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re right, I was still thinking like a Federation citizen.”
“And so is Freya,” I said. “I’d love to see the look on her face when she’s captured.”
From the deck of the Tercel, we heard Captain Jorson issuing orders and organizing teams to return to the mountain base and search for survivors. David looked up at the airship and said, “I should join one of those teams.”
“You most certainly should not, darling! How many times have you Boosted since you last slept?” I asked. When David looked down sheepishly without answering, I continued, “That’s what I thought. You’re going to rest and get something to eat. The Mordanian Navy will find a way to manage without your help.”
A few feet away, Jade said, “David hasn’t removed you from my care, Chris, and it’s my opinion you are too injured to join a search team.”
“But Jade-” Chris tried to protest.
“Don’t make me appeal to a higher power, Ensign!” Jade said. “I am certain Callan—um, Her Highness—will agree with me.”
“She’s right, Chris,” I said to the teenagers. “But since you desperately want to do something useful, you can take one of the Tercel’s pinnaces and escort Jade back to her family.”
Jade looked distinctly uncomfortable at my suggestion. “Dad’s going to be awfully mad at me for flying off.”
“But he’ll be even more relieved to know you’re safe,” I said. “Chris, are you up to this onerous duty?”
“Flying a pinnace?” Chris asked. “Sure.”
I shook my head. “I meant are you up to meeting Jade’s parents? For some reason young men always get nervous about that.”
“Um, I think so?” Chris replied.
“Just let Jade introduce you, Chris,” David said. “You risked your own life to save hers. Fathers tend to appreciate that sort of thing.”
“It sounds like I’ve missed all sorts of excitement,” I said, linking my arm in David’s. “Let’s board the Tercel and you can tell me all about it while the crew prepares a pinnace.”
David let Jade and Chris tell most of the story, only speaking up to downplay his own role or to highlight the courage of other
s. By the time Jade and Chris left in the pinnace—Jade pulled rank on Chris and took the controls—I had most of the story. David was asleep before the pinnace was out of sight.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Jade
Chris sat quietly across from me as I piloted the pinnace away from the Tercel. Within minutes, our surroundings were as quiet as Chris. After all of the noise and activity of the last twelve hours, the clank and hiss of the pinnace’s steam engine barely registered in my ears. It obviously didn’t bother Chris, as his head slowly sank toward his chest. He caught himself and jerked his head up, embarrassment evident on his face.
“You look worn out, Chris,” I said. “When did you sleep last?”
Chris turned bleary eyes toward me. “Um… Two nights ago? No, three. I think.”
“Why don’t you take a nap?”
Chris straightened his back and shoulders briefly. They began settling in weariness before he started speaking. “This is a Naval vessel. As the only officer onboard, it’s my duty to maintain watch.”
I rolled my eyes. Why were boys so stubborn? “David made me part of the Royal Navy and put you under my orders. That lasts until I’m returned to my family.”
“We’re on our way to do that now,” Chris said.
“But we haven’t done it yet.” Chris didn’t look convinced, so I tried the best metaphor I could think of. “Is ‘transporting cargo’ the same as ‘delivering cargo’?”
“No.” Chris smiled in resignation. “Very well, Captain Jade, I am yours to command. What do you wish me to do?”
Adopting the annoying tone of voice Mrs. Sune always used with me, I said, “Sit next to me, Ensign Chris.”
“Aye aye!” He grinned and joined me on the port side of the pinnace.
“Now, kiss me.” I felt my cheeks heat up at my own temerity.
Chris must have seen my blush, because he gave me a simple peck on a red cheek. “As you command, Captain Jade.”
“That’s a fine kiss, Ensign—if I was your sister!” I glared at Chris. “Kiss me like you mean it. Kiss me like…like…”
