The Smuggler's Ascension

by Christopher Ingersoll

  “Thank you for your concern, Prime Minister,” Sabine answered tiredly. “Inform the council that we will reconvene tomorrow afternoon, after the midday meal.”

  Prime Minister Rossada nodded to her and the screen went dark. Sabine remained sitting at the desk, her heart suddenly heavy and filled with fear for Kristof. She desperately wished they could find another way, buy Kristof was adamant in his course now.

  Kristof approached from behind and began rubbing her shoulders. Sabine leaned her head back and allowed the stress to drain away as best she could as she relaxed at his touch. She allowed her mind to drift through memories of him touching her, and also felt a rush of Anasha’s memories of the same feelings, and felt her body grow suddenly hot. Pulling the thoughts around herself like a veil, she freed herself from Kristof’s hands and rose from the desk.

  “Take me to bed, my love,” Sabine whispered as she slipped her hand up under Kristof’s shirt. “Tonight I need it to be just the three of us,” pointing to her head to indicate Anasha. “I need to feel you as much as I can before morning.”

  Kristof lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the bedroom. Sabine laid her head on his chest once more and lost herself in the sound of his beating heart. His heartbeat quickened as she began working open the buttons of his shirt as they went, and she smiled devilishly to herself as she bit his chest, her cares for the moment now forgotten.

  ~*~

  ~37~

  The morning for Kristof to meet his father once more came all too quickly for his liking. Unable to sleep, he had fled his bed that he shared with Sabine and gone to meditate one more time. It was still pitch black outside the palace as Kristof moved through the Su’Tani meditation forms in the Garden of Songs. He desperately hoped to see an answer in the streams of time that he had missed, or to find something new.

  As Subat had told Sabine days before, as the ak’Sun Su’Tani, Kristof was able to see multiple futures play out at once in the hopes of finding the correct path to follow. So far, all of his choices had led to the same two inevitable conclusions, neither of which were acceptable to him. There was no question which he would choose, though, if it meant saving Sabine’s life.

  Frustrated at the meditations’ lack of new answers, Kristof ended the forms and headed back to the apartments he shared with Sabine. Max had accompanied him to the garden, while the royal guards remained at the royal suites, and walked with him now as the palace slowly began to come alive around them as the sun began to rise along the horizon.

  “It is very different here,” Max said lightly, picking up on Kristof’s frustration. “I have not felt the need to curse nearly as much since we arrived.”

  “The miracles of civilization,” Kristof replied in wonder. He gave the android a long look as they walked together. “I have a request of you, my friend, and a gift.”

  “As always, I am your not so very humble servant,” Max said, making Kristof laugh.

  “While I am away,” Kristof began, “I ask that you be Sabine’s bodyguard just as you have been mine all these years. You are not to leave her side. If for any reason I should not return, then I would like for you to stay with Sabine as her permanent bodyguard. I make it your choice,” he continued, suddenly very formal as he continued, “Since from this day forth I declare you to be a free and independent being.”

  Max stopped suddenly, causing Kristof to have to stop and look back. Kristof had thought it impossible to surprise the android or see a look of astonishment on an android’s face, yet there it was. He knew that what he had just given Max; the opportunity to live as a free and independent being and not just a servant; to be extremely rare for androids, who were after all artificially constructed beings. Kristof’s rank now on Purannis also made it guaranteed that Max’s status as a free being would be confirmed and officially recognized.

  “Of all the humans I have served since I came online,” Max said once he recovered from his shock, “you have been the most honorable. And you have been my true friend. I will do as you have asked,” Max pledged and clasped Kristof’s hand in friendship.

  “But you better fucking come back,” the android added quickly. Kristof laughed again.

  “My friend, you have been my loyal and true companion, and I should have done this for you years ago,” Kristof said. “No matter the outcome today, from this moment forth you are a free android.” Kristof embraced to the android warmly, and Max returned the embrace awkwardly. No further words were needed between them.

  “Let’s go find that beautiful wife of yours,” Max said after a moment. “If you don’t come back, do you think I have a chance with her?” he asked teasingly. Kristof laughed loudly and gave his friend a light punch in the arm as they resumed the walk back to the royal suites.

  Kristof found Sabine still asleep a short time later as he returned to their apartments. Max had remained in the outer hall to stand guard while still allowing for some privacy. Kristof spent several minutes gazing upon his diminutive wife and marveled at all that had happened over the past month and a half. He had gone from being a smuggler, and a criminal on many worlds, to being a mythical warrior and husband to a queen. It all had a very surreal feel to it at times.

  Stripping down, Kristof stepped into a hot shower and washed away the sweat from his meditations. He closed his eyes and allowed the hot water to beat on his body, and was not surprised to feel Sabine’s arms wrap around him from behind a short while later. The feel of her naked skin against his elicited a primal thrill in him as it always did, and he felt himself stirring with desire.

  Sabine must have felt it too, Kristof realized, because she sank her teeth lightly into his back as she reached down to grasp him in her tiny hand, causing him to gasp in surprise. Turning in her arms, Kristof leaned down to kiss her and pull her to him. Their passion was urgent with need as he lifted her onto himself and pressed her back against the shower wall. Sabine cried out in ecstasy as the morning sunlight burst through the nearby windows and Kristof lost himself in her.

  Words seemed unnecessary as they finished their shower together and dried each other. They both knew the perils of the day to come, though Kristof knew Sabine did not know the certainties that he had come to learn, and hid from her. He admired her beauty as she walked naked to a large closet where she kept her clothing. He sat, still naked himself, on the bed as he watched her dress, memorizing everything about her. She continually shot him smiles and blushed at his many admiring glances and compliments until she was finally dressed.

  Sabine walked to him then and led him to a matching closet, where she laid out a dark suit similar to the one she’d had made for him for court days before. It was a Puranni suit of black cashmere and trimmed in a pale green that matched his eyes. His shirt was of the same pale green with silver buttons. Sabine added silver cuff links that bore the Royal Seal of House Arctura that he knew had been her father’s.

  Stepping back, Sabine took in the finished product she had careful assembled and let out a sigh of love and desire. Kristof smiled at her, knowing it had given her a lot of joy to be able to do this for him. Had it been up to him, Kristof probably would have chosen battle armor and a pair of blasters and his father’s directions be damned.

  They joined hands and went in search of Subat and the rest of their high councilors, Max joining them as they left the apartments. A joint breakfast and final strategy session had been planned for that morning, after which Kristof would begin the trip to meet his father. All rose as he and Sabine entered the hall and took their seats at the head of the table. Kristof was still not used to being served by staff, but he ignored it as he took in the group at the table around him. In particular, he glanced to Subat, his father-in-law by Anasha. They shared a look that spoke volumes, and Subat nodded to him with a smile.

  “All final preparations have been completed,” General Mannis announced to Sabine. “Our fleet stands ready in orbit should they be needed, as you ordered. A shuttle has been prepared for Lord Kristof�
�s use. The civilian populations of the planet have been moved to underground bunkers as much as possible, though we are badly unprepared for the possibilities of an invasion or orbital bombardment.”

  “Very good, General,” Sabine answered quietly, her voice subdued.

  “Your Majesty,” Subat said softly, “the Su’Vanii, the Su’Tani Elders, have asked for the honor of standing with you during the…negotiations.”

  “It would be a great honor, Master Su’Tani,” Sabine responded delightedly, obviously surprised by the gesture. “They will be most welcome.” Kristof had learned that the Elders rarely left their sanctuary, though they had come for the presentation of him to the royal court as the ak’Sun Su’Tani. For them to know come forth to stand with the Queen now, during such a time of strife, was truly astonishing.

  Silence returned. There were no more preparations to make, and all of their words had now run dry. Soon the group rose and filed towards a landing pad outside the palace. The shuttle waiting for Kristof there was a sleek, silver and black hulled ship. It had obviously been armed at one time, but the weapons emplacements now stood bare. Kristof wished they had remained, though they would have been of little good to him where he was going.

  “The shield generators have been greatly amplified,” Max said from Kristof’s side. “Since they wouldn’t allow any fucking guns on it,” he added. “They will give you some extra time to make a run for it, if you need to.”

  Kristof smiled at his friend, and Max turned and stepped back to bar the rest of the group from following as Kristof, Subat, and Sabine walked to the ship’s boarding ramp. Sabine’s hand was a vise in his as he turned to gaze down into her eyes. He could see the unshed tears in her eyes.

  “Safe journey, my son,” Subat said to him, calling Kristof’s attention. Kristof turned to his father-in-law and hugged him tightly, surprising the older man.

  “Watch over her,” Kristof whispered low.

  Subat nodded to Kristof as the embrace broke, and then turned to join the rest of the group at the edge of the landing pad.

  “You must come back to me, my Kristof,” Sabine said in a voice thick with emotion, reclaiming Kristof’s attention. “I need you so much, my love. Come back to me.”

  “I love you, Sabine,” Kristof said softly, caressing her cheek and brushing away a tear. “I will fight even Death himself to be by your side for all time, my love.”

  Kristof kissed her softly then, struggling hard to keep his thoughts sealed so Sabine would not pick up on what was screaming through his mind. Finally, he released her and walked up the boarding ramp. With a final look and whispered ‘I love you’ to his wife, Kristof hit the switch and watched Sabine’s eyes as the boarding ramp rose until she was lost to his sight.

  ~*~

  ~38~

  Sabine watched the shuttle rise into the air and slowly climb higher and higher into the morning sky until it was lost from sight. Tears threatened again behind her eyes, but she refused to let anyone see her cry now. Subat came to her once more and took her hand as he led the way, and the group made their way to another waiting shuttle nearby.

  The flight to the compound of the Puranni High Command was a short one. Sabine knew that this was the most heavily fortified place on the planet, and she could see countless cannons and shield generators about the compound as they circled and landed. She also knew this would be among the first targets of the Clovani armada if things went badly, but if that happened she would no longer care. A Clovani assault would mean that Kristof had failed and was most likely dead, and she did not care to think of living without him.

  General Mannis led the way deep into the compound, descending by elevator for several minutes until Sabine knew they were deep underground. The base’s command center was a beehive of activity. On a large monitor on the wall they were tracking the progress of Kristof’s shuttle as it cleared the planet’s atmosphere and headed towards the frontier. Once past the planet’s moon, the shuttle disappeared into hyperspace.

  “How long until he gets there?” Sabine asked, though she knew already.

  “Roughly thirty six hours to the Clovani border,” General Mannis replied. “The Clovani armada is just this side of the border as an open threat.”

  “How many ships in the armada?” she asked, not really interested in the numbers but feeling a need to keep talking.

  “Our last recon mission indicated fifty heavy cruisers, two hundred destroyers, a hundred or so frigates, and two dreadnaughts,” Admiral Geoff answered her, joining the group. Sabine realized he had not been with them for Kristof’s sendoff. Apparently, he had remained here to finish the preparations of the planetary defense. Also, his advanced age made getting around difficult for him at times, she knew, which was probably why he had remained here.

  “I haven’t seen a dreadnaught before,” Sabine admitted. “How big are they, truly? I have heard some wild tales.”

  Her grandfather thought to himself a moment before responding.

  “Do you remember our star sailing trips when you were about ten, and the giant krakens we saw fighting over a mate near the Antonis Nebula?” Geoff asked her finally.

  “Yes,” Sabine answered, remembering the mighty spacefaring beasts that had been waging a fierce battle over a nearby female. The giant krakens that lived in the nebula easily measured three miles long when fully grown and could have crushed a star cruiser in their enormous tentacles.

  “A Clovani dreadnaught is about four times the size of an adult kraken,” Admiral Geoff said darkly.

  Sabine was at a loss for words as she imagined such an immense ship. The sheer amount of resources to build a single ship like that was staggering to imagine, as well as the number of people needed to crew it, let alone for the Clovani Empire to build two. She shuddered at the thought of what Kristof was flying towards and had to fight down the sudden urge to call him back. She reminded herself that she needed to trust him. Both Subat and Kristof had seen this in their visions, after all.

  “Master Su’Tani,” Sabine called suddenly, and Subat appeared at her side. “Tell me again of your vision about Kristof being aboard his father’s ship.”

  Sabine picked up on Subat’s hesitation immediately.

  “What is it you have not told me, father?” Sabine demanded suddenly, anger and fear rushing through her body like fire and ice.

  “I have told you all that I have seen, my Queen,” Subat said simply as he folded his hands and bowed to her. “I have seen Kristof aboard his father’s ship, hands bound before him, and then nothing but light.”

  “But you suspect more, don’t you,” Sabine accused. “What has Kristof seen?”

  “My daughter,” Subat said, pain and surprise evident in his voice, “I have suspected that Kristof had seen much more through his visions as the ak’Sun Su’Tani, since precognition is a large part of the power attributed to the Lord Protector in the legends. However, I felt that it was up to him to reveal what, if anything, he had seen to you. I had truly believed he had already told you what he had seen in private.”

  “He told me nothing,” Sabine whispered in a sinking voice. She was dreadfully afraid for Kristof now, more so than she already had been. “Call him back!” she pleaded suddenly.

  “It is too late now, my child,” Subat said compassionately. “The moment his ship drops from hyperspace he will be before the Clovani armada. He will have no chance to run then, and we have no way to communicate with him while he is in hyperspace. We must trust that he knows what he is doing now.”

  “But…” words failed Sabine then.

  The tears that she had banished with much effort earlier now threatened again. Subat embraced her gently and hid her as those tears broke free. He kept her in his arms as she wept, her fear for Kristof consuming her thoughts.

  “Anasha will watch over and protect him,” Subat whispered softly, giving her a bit of hope to hold onto. Sabine, who had never been particularly pious in the past, prayed to the Gods now. She sent out her
prayers for Kristof, and for Anasha to somehow defend him, and hoped that it would be enough.

  ~39~

  Time ticked away as Kristof meditated, touching that core of power within himself that had awakened when he had been named as the ak’Sun Su’Tani, trying to become as familiar with it as he could in the little time left to him. The power was alive and moved freely within him. He could feel that its potential was limitless, truly only limited by Kristof himself and his imagination. The multitude of possible timelines were slowly merging down into only a few possibilities now, he could feel.

  The rainbow swirls of hyperspace disappeared and Kristof looked on as his shuttle returned to normal space and the sight of hundreds of warships before him. His father’s flagship, The Wrath of Clovani, was impossible to miss in the distance. The anchor-shaped vessel was easily big enough to house the population of a dozen cities large cities and it bristled with laser turrets, missile and torpedo launchers, and the deadly mass launchers on its underbelly.

  The mass launchers, Kristof knew, were used to propel iron core asteroids through hyperspace towards a planetary surface. The resulting collisions decimated planets and were outlawed by most civilized governments throughout the galaxy, but a few governments still persisted in their use, including Clovani. The Wrath’s mass launchers were already armed and readying to fire, he saw, though this had been expected from the visions and the intelligence briefings. He had counted on it, though, as they figured into his plan. Kristof opened himself to the power of the ak’Sun Su’Tani and began to subtly feed extra power into the mass launchers aboard the Wrath of Clovani, creating an undetectable instability at their power cores.

  In the distance Kristof could see a second dreadnaught, most likely the God’s Hammer, he thought to himself. He slowly began to feed energy into the Hammer’s mass launchers as well with a subtle push of his mind. The other warships in the armada meant little to him, though after a time he began to spot the Puranni ships that had defected when Sabine took her throne.