Hart Of Honor: A Danielle Hart Novel

by Gregory Sanders

  He moved as quietly as he could to get close to where the Queen was standing. He took a position next to the podium. So far no one had spotted him. This would be the real test. He was close enough to the Terran Queen that he could hear her breathing. This will prove its viability as a defense technology. He switched the shield on and tensed up as he waited to see if it would work. There was a quick buzz as the shield initialized, then nothing.

  The Queen seemed to hear the sound too. She gave a quick glance to each side, then waved her hand close to her head. She thinks it was just an insect! This may work after all. He kept as still as possible and his gaze focused on the two twin buildings in the distance. You can do this, Danielle. I believe in you.

  ***

  Queen Constance was standing beside Prime Minister Hobarth. The two had never met face to face before and had exchanged brief pleasantries a few minutes earlier. Hobarth had explained that he had no desire for war, only that justice was served. She had agreed with him about a desire for justice, just not the fact that she felt like this wasn't it. Now they were about to walk out together and address the peoples of both nations to try and calm the tension that had been building since word of the destruction of the Rylan Starburst had first been reported. She had two of her senior Sovereign Angels standing by her as guards, the rest of the Angels stationed in the capital were out on patrol in case of trouble. Hobarth had brought several bodyguards as well, and they stood a short distance away. The speech they were about to give had been worded carefully but a group of top speechwriters from both the Commonwealth and Protectorate in advance, since a guilty verdict was expected. They would take turns saying their parts, and hopefully, by the end of the speech, their peoples would be ready to move on and embrace peace again. A member of her public affairs team off to the side whispered that it was time. She and Hobarth walked out toward the podiums on the front of the platform and faced their audience. I'm truly sorry Captain. If there were any other way to save the Commonwealth, I wouldn't let them take you.

  The Queen was to begin the speech. "Citizens of the Terran Commonwealth and the Rylan Protectorate, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to speak with you this afternoon. These past few days have been extremely hard for both our peoples. Many lives were lost when the Rylan Starburst was destroyed. That cannot be changed. Not by any amount of apologies, or by going to war. Prime Minister Hobarth and I agreed at the onset of these events that the only reasonable outcome to this horrible circumstance was to allow the legal system to handle the matter and to respect whatever was handed down by the jury. Today that verdict was announced. Captain Zachary Ridgeway was found guilty of over two thousand counts of murder and will be punished for the crimes in which he was found guilty of. As part of the agreement that Prime Minister Hobarth and I reached, the trial would be conducted here on Mars with the Protectorate participating in all areas of the trial. If found guilty, the sentencing portion would be handled by the Protectorate, since only they know the true depth of loss incurred."

  "On behalf of the Rylan Protectorate, I feel that a fair and just outcome has been reached for this trial," Hobarth began. "Captain Ridgeway will be taken into custody by Protectorate law enforcement later today to be transferred to a Protectorate facility where his punishment will be determined and carried out. This has been a very stressful time for both our peoples. No one ever wants to see a tragedy like this occur in their lifetime, but since it has, we must rise up and be better than our base instincts. The actions of this man do not reflect the sentiment of the Commonwealth towards the Protectorate. I encourage the citizens of both the Protectorate and the Commonwealth to move past this issue and resume a peaceful relationship as we have enjoyed in the past. Our two peoples can emerge from this tragedy even stronger than before and we can enter a new era..."

  There was a brief flash of light, then Prime Minister Hobarth collapsed behind the podium. Green blood was oozing from a scorched hole in the right side of his chest, and his eyes were rolled into the back of his head. Just as Hobarth's body hit the ground, the air flickered in front of the Queen as a second pulse blast impacted K'oron's shield mere inches from her face. The surge caused by the pulse impact overloaded the shield generator, which caused the camouflage to flicker as well. K'oron had been visible for a brief moment! K'oron had done as Danielle had asked, he had protected her queen, but now it was time to protect himself.

  He leaped off the side of the platform, hoping to clear the immediate area before guards had it completely locked down. K'oron made it outside the inner perimeter of guards and finally allowed himself a breath. He began working his way back toward the park where his ship was at. He could do no more here. Now he had to get to Danielle. There would be no talking to the Queen today. They would have to try again later, but first, they had to escape. If they were caught today, things would not go in their favor.

  He reached the park, which was empty. At least getting to his ship had been easy. He pressed the button on his remote and disabled the camouflage just long enough to open the door and get in. He started the engines up and lifted off the ground. K'oron knew where Danielle should be and he knew that he could land on the roof of that building. He just hoped she hadn't been captured.

  ***

  Danielle heard the distinct sound of a pulse rifle fire twice. I'm too late! Creator, please let K'oron save the Queen! She drew her pulse blaster and ran directly toward the sound, throwing caution to the wind. She rounded a corner in the hallway and almost collided with a panic-stricken V'drellian that was running toward her. "Th'arn," Danielle shouted, "you're the assassin?"

  The V'drellian man looked wild with fear. "Danielle Hart! I didn't do it! It was No'tok! He's setting me up to take the blame for this!"

  "Slow down," Danielle ordered pointing her weapon at him. "Now tell me what happened."

  The scared man took a few deep breaths and tried to regain some of his composure. "No'tok kidnapped me and locked me in the room with a mounted HX-4 Rylan pulse rifle. I swear I didn't do it. He had it on remote control. After he fired the weapon, the door unlocked and I ran. We were supposed to have hired someone to do this. A disgruntled Terran, perhaps. Then the Triumvirate decided I had become too focused on my personal climb to power, so they had No'tok set me up."

  Danielle wasn't sure if she believed him or not. Th'arn was definitely part of the conspiracy. Is he telling the truth? Did he try and back out and No'tok set him up, or is he lying because I caught him? She didn't have the luxury of time to ponder the issue. She knew the guards would be showing up any moment. This man demanded her execution on V'drell Prime only days before. Now he was here, at her mercy. She hated this man. The universe would be a better place without you. Her finger began tensing up on the trigger of her weapon, but then she relaxed it. Killing you won't change anything, but if you're alive we can use you for information.

  "Please, you have to believe me!" Th'arn begged. "I'm your prisoner. Take me to the Emperor. Just get me out of here!"

  The fear on his face appeared genuine to her. Perhaps he is telling the truth. "Okay, we'll take you to the Emperor and let him decide what to do. We know that you're involved, and if you help us stop No'tok and the others you might just live through this."

  CHAPTER 22

  Lakeisha had been enjoying her position on the Queen's security detail. She was part of the advance team that secured locations prior to the Queen's arrival. Now they had orders to search nearby buildings looking for an assassin. She and her partner, Ensign Joey Rivers had been stationed farther away from the palace when the news went out. They approached the closest tall buildings and started their search. She entered the left of the two twin buildings and told Rivers to clear the right one. She entered the lift and rode it to the nineteenth floor.

  As soon as she stepped off the lift, she could hear voices. She crept down the hallway toward the sounds. The hallway made a turn, and she was close enough now to distinguish two voices, a male and female both speaking some forei
gn language. She carefully peered around the corner just enough to see. What she saw shocked her. Danielle was standing a few steps down the hallway talking with a panicked V'drellian. What the... She flipped around the corner gun leveled and fired a single shot striking the V'drellian center mass. He fell backward into the window, breaking the glass as he fell to the ground below.

  "Keisha!" Danielle shouted. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" She started to run to her friend, but the look on Lakeisha's face stopped her in her tracks. Instead of seeing the happy face of a dear friend, Danielle was seeing the icy face of a soldier that now had a gun pointed directly at her. "I know I'm in strange clothes, but don't you recognize me?"

  "Yeah, I recognize you," Lakeisha said coldly. "Your face has been on the news almost constantly for the past few days. You're said to be in league with the Dominion against the Commonwealth. Looks like the reports were true after all."

  "It's not like that, Keisha," Danielle tried to explain.

  "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Danielle," Lakeisha warned. "We're searching for a V'drellian assassin with a Rylan HX-4 pulse rifle, and you happen to be here with him. That makes you a co-conspirator."

  "I'm telling you, it's not like that," Danielle argued. "He said that the gun that was used was remote controlled and that he was being set up to take the blame. He said that No'tok is behind this, and he..." Danielle's word trailed off. "Wait, I didn't say what kind of weapon he had, and you don't speak V'drellian. How did you know what kind of weapon it was? I never mentioned that, and you can't see it from here."

  Lakeisha shook her head and began to smile. "Danni, why didn't you just stay on V'drell Prime? Why did you have to come back?"

  Danielle felt like her knees were going to buckle under her. It was beginning to make sense. "You're not actually searching for an assassin, are you Keisha? Because you already knew where he would be. You're on clean-up duty for No'tok. He broke you when we were on his ship, didn't he?"

  Lakeisha busted out laughing. "Oh girl, you are so far off base! No'tok didn't break me, No'tok was recruited by the same group that I'm a member of. We call ourselves the Legion. Our goal is to fulfill the will of Kamseth, and see that the strong and powerful dominate the weak minded and physically inferior."

  "When did that happen?" Danielle asked the woman that she had called a friend for so many years.

  "I'm only half Terran,” Lakeisha explained "My father was a Morgalan priest that followed the teaching of Kamseth. My mother grew up in a renegade Terran settlement inside the edge of the Protectorate. She met my father and they fell in love. He taught her the will of Kamseth, and she became a devout follower. When I was born he taught me as well. My father died when I was eight, and my mother moved back to the Commonwealth for a safer life for the two of us. Since my mother was of African descent and Morgalans have a dark orange skin, no one in the Commonwealth ever suspected that I was only half Terran. Even though we lived here, we still kept the will of Kamseth in our hearts. Over time my mother found out about others who seek Kamseth's will, not just on Mars, but throughout the universe."

  Lakeisha leaned against the wall but kept the gun pointed at Danielle. "I knew about the V'drellians long before I ever joined the academy. We began calling ourselves the Legion because there were many of us scattered on many different worlds. One of the most devout members of our faith was a Valuvian named Gaelon. He organized the most devout followers into a separate group dedicated to actually bringing about Kamseth's will on the entire universe. He formed the Triumvirate as its ruling body and appointed one member from each of the three major nations to serve on it. He would represent the Protectorate, Th'arn was to the represent the Dominion, and my mother was chosen to represent the Commonwealth. When she died, I was offered the opportunity to take her place. We each worked to climb higher in our respected governments so we could wield more influence over the people. I knew that my only chance was to join the academy and get fast-tracked. When you befriended me, it gave me a way to become a Sovereign Angel, which would give me access to the Queen. It was No'tok's idea to make me a war hero by my escape from his ship. My injuries were never more than minor wounds. Even when he shot me, he made sure it was superficial wounds that would easily heal. You were supposed to be sent away until our plans were completed. I really didn't want it to come to this. I had hope that someday I could convince you to join us. You are one of the strongest women I know, and would have made an excellent addition to our numbers."

  "So why are you telling me this?" Danielle probed.

  Lakeisha laughed again. "Well, Danni, its because you're not going to be alive to tell anyone else. I just caught you helping Th'arn carry out his assassination attempt. It's really too bad that he didn't get the Queen too, but we'll figure out some way to deal with her later. It's a shame though that you tried to fight me instead of surrendering peacefully. I really didn't want to have to kill my best friend." She reached to her ear and keyed her comms device. She started shouting frantically. "The is Lt. Johnson, I found the assassins. I killed one, and have the other held at gunpoint. It's Lt. Hart. I need back up ASAP!" She raised the gun to Danielle's chest and spoke again in a calm, cold voice. "I guess by now getting shot is second nature to you, huh? This time I'll make sure it's the last. You're going to make me an even bigger hero."

  "Not as long as I'm watching her back," a voice said from behind Lakeisha. Lakeisha spun around expecting to find someone there, but she saw no one. That gave Danielle the opening she needed. She leaped toward Lakeisha's back knocking her to the floor. She punched her former friend in the base of the skull as hard as she could, rendering Lakeisha unconscious.

  "K'oron materialized in front of her. "Let's move, there are more soldiers on the way. I parked the ship on the roof." They took the stairs to the roof and K'oron disabled the camouflage on the ship. The entered it, and K'oron enabled the camouflage again. They took off and headed for space.

  ***

  The entire area was pandemonium. The Queen's Angels moved in immediately to get her to safety and to try and find the purple man they had all briefly seen. "Guard the Queen," shouted the head of her security team with his weapon drawn, "and find that intruder!" Some of Hobarth's security team also had their weapons drawn panning the audience and sky, while two of them were dragging his body out of the line of fire.

  "Are you hit, Your Majesty?" The Queen's head of security kept asking her.

  "No," she replied, "I'm fine. What happened?"

  "It looks like an assassination attempt on You and the Prime Minister," her head of security answered. "He took a blast to the chest. Doesn't look good. His people are tending to him. The second shot meant for you seemed to have missed."

  "No, it didn't miss," she corrected him, "It was blocked by something. I saw the blast flash right in front of my eyes. Someone stopped it, and for a moment, I thought I saw a purple man."

  "You did see a purple intruder, Your Majesty," he confirmed. "We think he might have been part of the assassination attempt. He disappeared just as fast as he appeared."

  "No, I think I know who he is, and why he was here," the Queen replied. "He is a V'drellian aiding Lt. Hart under my orders."

  "Your orders?" a voice cried out. Everyone turned to see Baron Zhi walking toward them. "I came to make sure my Queen was not harmed, but now I find that she has been working with the enemy! Even after the Council warned you of such actions! You have completely ignored the fact that the Dominion is who attacked us in the first place!" Baron Zhi was beginning to draw a crowd. The news media that had been on site for the trial announcement perked up at the sound of the shouting, and many of the barons that were in attendance had come back toward the platform now that the danger seemed to have passed. "Your Majesty, I think that the stress of these recent events is clouding your judgment." There was a murmur of agreement coming from the growing crowd. "Let the Council handle things for a while so you can rest."

  "I can assure you all that I am fine," t
he Queen countered calmly in contrast to Zhi's ranting. "I was made aware of a conspiracy of individuals from the Commonwealth, Protectorate, and Dominion that desire to overthrow each of these governments. These individuals have enacted a plan that involved the attack at our border, the destruction of the Rylan Starburst, framing Captain Ridgeway, and quite possibly the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Hobarth and myself." While she was explaining, Lakeisha arrived at the platform, still rubbing the back of her head.

  "Your Majesty," Lakeisha bowed, "we found the assassin, and he died while trying to apprehend him, but his accomplice escaped. We are continuing the search for her, but she seems to have disappeared."

  "Who was it?" The Queen asked.

  "A V'drellian man was the shooter. Lt. Danielle Hart was the accomplice. I had her caught, but she had someone with her. I was hit from behind, and they got away." Lekeisha dropped to her knee. "I'm sorry I failed you, Your Majesty." Before the Queen could respond, there was an outburst of laughter.

  "A universal conspiracy?" Zhi laughed. "That's what you believed was going on here, Your Majesty? Indeed there does seem to be a conspiracy, but it's not universal in origin. It seems that it started inside your own Sovereign Angels. One of your own elite soldiers has turned against you and joined the ranks of the enemy. What's more, you believed her far-fetched story that had no evidence, while ignoring those around you who were telling you the truth and had large amounts of evidence to back them up!"

  At that point, Zhi stopped addressing the Queen and turned to the crowd and the cameras. "Citizens of the Commonwealth, noble barons, honored guests from the Protectorate, I am saddened by the events of today, but more so by the decisions of my Queen who has allowed many of these events to occur. I do not hold her at fault though, she is young and was swayed by the story of a friend from her childhood. She had to assume the throne at such an early age due to the untimely death of her parents. It is these facts that I believe are responsible for her decisions. I would ask that the Council of Barons would appoint a regent to rule in her stead while she takes time to rest. When she has recovered from the stress of recent events and has had time to study the politics of the current political environment, she would be reinstated to power." A chorus of agreement came up from the crowd and the barons present.