“You’ll not bait me into a confrontation that I know I can’t hope to win,” he said finally.
“I merely asked a question, Colonel. The princess will need loyal leaders within her military if Trillond is to remain peaceful and prosperous. Are you loyal then, Colonel?” I asked, limiting his answer to a basic yes or no.
“Where my loyalties lie is not your concern. You are an outsider inserting yourself where you’re not wanted.”
“E’Aria is family and we don’t let family face danger alone,” I told him. “I am exactly where I should be and so are my people. I hope you are on the right side of things when the shit hits the fan, because if you’re not, this little conversation won’t be forgotten.”
“Colonel, you’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,” Natalia added. “The princess has more allies than just our team, so that you understand. I think you are a man of honor, and whatever the reason for this discussion I hope to see you among her supporters.”
The Colonel smiled at Natalia. “You saw through me. That is rare in one so young. You are correct. I serve my King and by his decree my Princess. I wanted to gauge the man that everyone seems so afraid of.”
“Dad is on best behavior right now, Colonel, so I wouldn’t gauge him by what you just witnessed. Another time and place, he would have punched your lights out and walked away, skipping all the pleasantries.”
“Yes, that would be his reputation, and the reason, if I understand correctly, that our Princess would rather do the same.”
“Colonel, E’Aria can take care of herself,” I said. “We are here as insurance, it seems. If you here any dissention in the ranks you might want to warn against any rash actions. Given the chance, she is going to make the people and military of Trillond very proud.”
“I understand my name has been given as a possible candidate for First Lord. Colonel is the lowest rank you can hold and be considered. Not that I hold hope, but I thought I may have to have dealings with you and your people in the future.”
“It is possible, Colonel, but hopefully not, unless you want to employ us. Then we could sit down and discuss it.”
There were many eyes on us as we spoke, mostly curious as to the outcome, I supposed. Maybe the Colonel was what was needed to move the Trillond into the present along with E’Aria. The doors opened not far from where I was standing and the King, Matt, Bill and his guards entered, followed by E’Aria, Harry, Nedra and more guards.
The chamberlain announced them as the chatter in the room came to an end. The king stood center stage and began a speech, at which time Alona and Emily entered through a door to the other side of me and stood next to Natalia. Their guards posted themselves at the door. The king spoke in even tones as he described the events of the day before. He had gradually worked himself into a good lather by the time he was done, which impressed me.
Alona heard him introduce her and moved away from us towards the dais. I had hoped she would be equally emotional, if not more so. It was known that she had handled all the difficult decisions over the last however many years, sparing her weaker brother the criticism that came with making the tough ones. She had condemned the actions of the First Lord and his immediate staff and promised to root out any additional perpetrators who may be involved.
As Alona spoke, I looked E’Aria over. She wore a beautiful dress and the pair of short swords she had when I met her. Other than that, she wore nothing to indicate she was a princess. Alona seemed at the end of her speech and introduced E’Aria. I noticed as she walked up the steps that it was not a gown but rather pants designed with enough material to look like a dress when standing still.
E’Aria studied the crowd and began speaking, then she did something unexpected and walked down into the crowded room with Harry and Nedra in tow. It seemed she hadn’t discussed this with anyone, but my people reacted quickly and were right behind her. I motioned for Natalia to stay put and began moving along the outside edge of the crowd. She must have targeted a number of individuals in the short time she stood on the dais, because she moved specifically towards each one but continuously spoke to the crowd.
Looking around the room, I noticed the guards blocking all the doors. It took me a few minutes to catch on and then I understood she was reading them, or at least attempting too. Most of the officers she approached stood silently under her scrutiny, then bowed slightly right before she walked away to the next one on her list. I noticed her approaching our favorite navy captain. He seemed calm as she stared him down, then he bowed just as the others and she walked away. That was an improvement, but I thought we had broken him by using Imelda on him.
When I thought what she was doing was going to come to an end without a hitch, there was one. He stood with his arms crossed, defiance written all over his face. I moved into the crowd in their direction, ignoring the angry looks that went away after they realized who had moved them out of the way.
Stay over there, I will handle this, Benjamin, E’Aria said. It had been a while since I had felt her talk to me like this, whispers in my mind.
I’m not going to do anything, you have serious backup already. Just getting a little closer is all, I answered. A space seemed to open up around me all the way to E’Aria. My assessment of the guy was that he was defiant but not aggressive. Of course, it was hard for me to judge someone defying authority — pot calling kettle black — and he could come around if she managed to find out what his grievance was about.
E’Aria made no special point of calling him out, she just moved on. In the end she was standing up on the dais again and thanking everyone for their cooperation. There would be meetings following the assembly to fill other positions that were created following E’Aria’s altercation with the officers who were hospitalized or dead. She had set the tone yesterday for how she would react to aggression. I wondered, would it have been different if Harry and Nedra weren’t standing behind her?
I had nothing to do until the ceremony later and I really wasn’t sure if I even had anything to do then. E’Aria still hadn’t said anything about the idea of my people guarding her during the procession. Everyone was making their way out of the great hall, either to attend a meeting or just to kill time.
I looked across the room to see Natalia with the large group assembled of crew, royalty and government friends. I decided to go and find my ship and check on Imelda while I had a few hours. It would be a damn good idea to know where it was actually sitting.
I fell in with a group of officers on their way to port. Most were going to get their dress uniforms ready for the evening.
The guards at the designated area for the royal families’ transport escorted me to the Claymore. Entering the code, I lowered the ramp to let some fresh air in for Imelda instead of going in a side door.
You’ve come to see me? Imelda asked.
Yes, I thought the air may be getting stale. I have a few hours to kill, I answered. It was dark, but I had the lights going in thirty seconds. She was standing not far from me, though I was sure she hadn’t been there when I stepped in. I walked towards her and stopped about a foot from her face. Reaching out with both hands I scratched her between the eyes.
Imelda began doing a little dance as I scratched, so I took that to mean she was enjoying it.
I heard the air crackle and saw it light up outside the hangar a split second before the ground shook. I ran back to the hangar doors to find the guards pointing and yelling into their com units. Smoke and flames in the distance told of a hit, but I didn’t know what.
“What was hit!” I yelled at both the guards.
“The communications center!” one yelled back.
The sky lit up again and debris was raining down. I didn’t need to ask; I knew the palace had just been hit. “Open the doors!” I yelled. In a split second I had made the decision and ran up the ramp, not stopping until I was on the bridge in the captain’s seat. I began the power up sequence and shut the ramp.
I had spent plenty of time in the
chair and knew more about the bridge than they gave me credit for. I didn’t know who was firing on the palace and didn’t care, I just hoped I had enough time to get everything charged up and ready before the leveled the place. I punched the ship to ship com address for the Allond flag ship and Captain Dakkon.
I saw his face almost immediately and knew he was waiting for some type of communication from the surface.
“Captain Dakkon, do you know who is firing on the palace?” I yelled, adrenaline taking over.
“Benjamin, it’s a Trillond battleship, it came in easy and as soon as it was in range it fired. We are on an intercept course but cannot fire until we have been given orders to do so.”
“Captain, can you at least take a defensive position between the battleship and the planet? I will be there in a matter of minutes and am under no such restriction.”
“Benjamin, the Claymore is a fine ship and I would give you odds taking on everything but a battleship,” Captain Dakkon said, with caution in his voice as well as admiration.
“The bigger they are, Captain, the longer they burn. I’ll see you in a few.”
During the conversation I had heard footsteps running around in the corridor. I glanced behind me. Adam and Lorelei along with Grubb, Binda and Buddy were standing behind me.
“You people posing for a team picture? You got thirty seconds to sit and strap in or get bounced around like a ball bearing in a pinball game.”
“You’re in my seat,” Lorelei said.
“You were late, so take tactical. Adam, do you think you can get the cloaking shuttle fired up and ready in case we need it?”
“I don’t know,” Adam replied.
“I can,” Buddy said.
“Great. Get her ready and sit tight.”
Binda sat in the communications seat. “Captain Dakkon is moving his ship to intercept,” I told her. “I’m going to try and come in under him and hopefully under the battleship, limiting the number of weapons they can fire on us at one time.”
“I don’t know, Benjamin. Even if you’re right, they are still very large weapons,” Binda said.
“Lorelei, load missiles and fire before we clear the Allond ship. Then load them all and fire again,” I said. “Grubb, load the back of the Trillond shuttle with four armed missiles. Go do it now, and hurry.”
“Lorelei,” I continued, “you have to fire on their shields until we get an opening big enough to get the shuttle through and inside, which should be too close for the large power weapons.”
“Benjamin, what are you planning on doing?” Binda asked.
“Buying some time for the rest of those fuck nuts to wake up and do something. No more questions, just do what you’re told!” I yelled. “When I get up, Binda, you take this seat. Lorelei, you stay on tactical. You’re the best on this ship.”
“We are going to launch both shuttles at the same time,” I told everyone. “If all goes according to plan, the cloaked shuttle can retrieve me off the hull of the battleship and we will get the hell away. You can pick us up at a safe distance.”
“Ben, Buddy knows a little about it, but it’s not much.”
“Luckily we have someone who knows everything that’s needed. How much time ‘til missile launch?” I asked.
“Three minutes,” Lorelei answered.
“If this goes south then get the cloaked shuttle, get planet side and get the rest of our people and anyone that needs a lift. They haven’t fired again, but that could change any second.”
I ran from the bridge to the brig. I yelled my command codes for the cell bars and grabbed my prisoner off her bed. “You give me one bit of trouble and I’ll shoot you. You understand me? You’re going to pilot the shuttle and pick me up and you’ll have a pistol at the back of your head the whole time, so don’t try anything.”
I pulled her along for the most part as we ran to the hold. “Buddy, Blue Eyes here is going to pilot. She gives you any lip or just twitches wrong you put her out with this.” I handed him my pistol.
I tapped my com. “Lorelei, how much time?”
“Thirty seconds, I’ll open the rear.”
I ran and grabbed a backpack and slipped my feet into some mag boots. The backpack was a short-range thruster for EVA work outside a ship. I ran — if you can call it that in mag boots — up the ramp through the shuttle and fell into the pilot’s seat. The rear opened and I eased the shuttle out, leaving the rear open.
Looking back, everything seemed fine. I powered away from the Claymore. I wanted to bring the shuttle in from an angle above the battleship.
“Binda, do you copy?”
“Go ahead, Ben.”
“Are you in the captain’s seat like I told you?”
“Yes Ben.”
“Punch this code into the console on the right.”
“I did, and a control has just emerged. The screen is indication 1 or 2.”
“Punch 1 as soon as we have an opening, and you will have fight control of this shuttle. At that time I am going to set the sensitivity of the missiles all the way down. You aim the shuttle at full power at the bridge of the battleship. Once you have sufficient speed, cut the power and I mean everything, so it’s harder for them to target. You guys get back down to the surface. If everything goes okay, I’ll see you there.”
I saw the first round of missiles hit, then the second round just seconds behind them. Some of the missiles from volley two got through and the shuttle accelerated as planned. I ran to the back and pressed the arming switches. The perimeters had already been set. I saw the shuttle plunging towards the bridge as the control center was blown away.
I tapped my homing beacon and jumped out the back. I hit the ignite button on the controls for a short burn, but in the end I knew I had fucked up. I was traveling at a velocity faster that the small backpack could overcome. I saw the shuttle hit and the blinding white light, even threw my darkened visor. Then the wave of the explosion hit me hard, pushing me in the other direction. I did what any normal dumb ass would do: I blacked out.
Chapter 17
I woke up, if you could call it that. I felt a strange material pressed against my face. My vision was blurry and my head throbbed. I saw black hair and blue eyes. I pulled the face down and kissed it. I had missed my Andrea.
Everything went black again and time stood still in a dreamless, lifeless state.
When I woke again I heard the sound of voices; some seemed familiar, but then again not. When I could finally focus, I was in a room with medical equipment surrounding me. I felt a hand on my arm, and it was no small hand. It felt cool and leathery; craning my neck a little, I saw it was green.
“Benjamin, can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can. Where am I?” I answered.
“You are on my ship, the Emperor’s flag ship. Do you remember what happened?”
“Is that you, Captain Dakkon?”
“Yes, Benjamin,” the captain answered.
“How did I get here? Where are my people?”
“The two from the shuttle brought you here. The Claymore is planet side, helping with the rescue effort.”
“What news from planet side — did we lose anyone? How’s my daughter, how’s Natalia?”
“All of your and my people are survived. The Trillond royalty survived. Some of the guests in the wing nearest the communications station were injured. The great hall was destroyed, but also empty.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m going to go back to sleep, Captain, is that okay?”
“Yes, Benjamin, take as long as you like. The battleship is surrounded and has been boarded by my marines and the Trillond navy. We have brought more ships from the border, and if another one shows up it will be boarded or engaged before it can reach weapons range.”
“That’s good news, Captain.”
“One more thing. I have the clone locked in a cell, per your crewmembers’ request. He has taken the shuttle and departed. The Queen of Cjittan has taken a great interest in you.
She is one her way here and Buddy said the shuttle needed to be elsewhere when she arrived. You live very dangerously, my young friend.” He patted my arm gently.
“I suppose I do, Captain, but I also learn new things,” I chuckled. “Like, four missiles are overkill when you’re blowing up the bridge of a battleship.”
“Yes, it would seem so,” he replied. “Now sleep while you can, you will have visitors shortly.”
zzz
“Is he on drugs, Doctor?” I heard someone ask.
“No, he is sleeping — a natural sleep for his species,” the doctor answered.
“I’m going to wake him then and start yelling, so you may want to leave the room,” I heard Natalia say.
“No dear, you will not yell at him,” a voice cut in calmly. “Your father did what he thought was right, and it was very good, at least for the most part. His execution was a bit flawed, but he saved lives and the king and princess from having to make some difficult decisions.” I knew that voice too.
“Go away, I gave blood already,” I said, pretending to be out of it.
“Not nearly enough, and when I’m done you’ll bleed some more,” Natalia said.
“Don’t be angry, sweetie. Something had to be done,” I said, opening my eyes.
“Something was being done, but you didn’t wait,” she countered.
“Yes, waiting while a battleship rains ship-busting laser shots down on the royal palace with my friends and family all inside? Next time, daughter, I’ll wait, then you can complain about why I didn’t act sooner when we are burying the dead!” I yelled.
“Benjamin!” Taz yelled back. I glared at them both.
“Thank you both for coming to yell and criticize me,” I said. “You can leave now, and go back to the land of waiting and rational behavior and negotiation and fucking bullshit. I want to sleep.”
“We will leave you ‘til you can calm down,” Taz said.
“Natalia! Tell everyone to pack their shit. We’re leaving tomorrow. I’ve done enough here, and anyone who wants to stay can. I have things to do, people to track down, and I’m not waiting any longer.”
The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: No More Lies (Book 3) Page 13
