Sertian Princess

by Peter Kenson

  "I did," one of them volunteered.

  "Were they alone? Did you see anyone else?"

  "There was just the two of them, sir. Right outside the door. We could see Max, that's the steward who was with them, on the floor at the end of the corridor, but we didn't dare go that far down to get him."

  "Did you see anything of the bloody pirates? Anything at all?"

  "No sir. I'm sorry, sir."

  David stood up and turned to Mikael. "That doesn't get us much further forward. We still don't know for certain whether or not they got the Princess back to the freighter.

  "Commander, could you send your Surgeon and some of your men down to that cabin and see what the situation is. Tessa will tell them the cabin number and I'm sure one of the stewards will show them the way."

  "Right. What about the rest of my men?"

  "If only one raiding party got back to the freighter, then there must be a number of armed pirates still aboard the liner. They'll have to be flushed out. I suggest that we get the Aldebaran's crew to conduct a full scale search of the ship, with your men providing the fire-power to back them up where necessary."

  "I'll organise it." Mikael swung round and began issuing rapid orders.

  "Tessa, Carly, if you're feeling up to it, get along to my cabin. Brianey said the transmitter's still in working order. Contact the Salamander and make sure she's tracking that freighter. Have them extrapolate her course, both for planetfall and for possible rendezvous with any other ship registering on the scanners."

  Tessa helped Carly to her feet and made a quick weapons check before leaving at a run. Mikael sent two of the Cleopatra's men with them: there was no shortage of volunteers.

  The communicator clipped to Singh's belt began bleeping plaintively. He answered it and listened for a few seconds before holding it out to David.

  "It's the Bridge," he said.

  David took the communicator. "Held here."

  “Captain Wainwright. That freighter, the Palomar, is broadcasting on all frequencies, repeating the message over and over."

  "What message?"

  "I'll read it to you. 'Attention all ships in the vicinity of the liner Aldebaran. This is the freighter Palomar. We have Princess Nerissa of Serta and her travelling companion as our guests on board this ship. Do not attempt to follow us or interfere with our passage in any way, or they may be hurt in the resulting manoeuvres.' And then the message repeats."

  "Thank you, Captain."

  David switched off the communicator and gave the others the gist of the message.

  "At least it removes the element of uncertainty," he remarked wryly.

  "So what do we do now?" Mikael asked.

  "Follow that damn freighter, by the look of it. But if they've got Princess Nerissa on board, it's going to be tricky getting her back. We can't risk an assault in deep space; there's too much scope for accidental damage from our action, let alone what they would do if threatened. They'll probably be making for Parm. I know I would in their situation. So that's where we'll have to go to get her back."

  "But Parm's space defences are the best in this entire sector. They've never been breached."

  "They've never had to keep the Salamander out before, Commander."

  David looked up as the entrance to the Astrodome irised open.

  "Ah, now this is an interview I'm not looking forward to."

  David knew that the officer commanding the detachment of Imperial Guard was Prince Gerald. Now, as the young officer strode onto the platform, still in full armour and with the insignia of his rank gleaming under the Astrodome lights, he experienced a slight sinking feeling at the thought of explaining to the Prince that his sister was in the hands of his father's enemies and on a freighter probably bound for one of the most impregnable bases in the Sector.

  He was, therefore, somewhat taken aback when, as he was stepping forward to greet the Prince, the young man rushed straight passed without any appearance of even noticing him.

  "Neri. Thank God you're safe. I've been so worried about you."

  David spun round and watched in amazement as Gerald and Nerissa embraced.

  "Ow! Gerry, you really should take that armour off before you go hugging a girl. You're more likely to wound her than woo her, encased in that steel box."

  "Sorry, sis. I'm just glad to see you."

  A little to one side of the couple, Brianey was standing, cradling a lightweight assault laser in her arms, and watching the display of sibling affection with a broad smile. At the sight of David's expression, she stopped smiling and hurried over to report.

  "You seem to be making a habit of turning up at the right time today, Brianey. How the devil did you manage it this time? And where is the Lady Lynda?"

  "It was Zara's idea, my lord."

  "Zara...." he began, with an enquiring raise of the eyebrow. He was about to ask where Zara was, and whether she was with Lady Lynda, when suddenly he had a feeling that he knew the answer to both questions.

  "Do go on, Bri."

  "We were following four of the raiders who were using some sort of tracking device to guide them round the corridors. They were concentrating so much on the device that they didn't notice us at all, so we moved quite close behind them to see if we could find out what they were tracking. Then we saw Tessa and Carly in a group with the Princess. The pirates saw them at the same time and opened up with their stun guns. Zara shouted a warning and Tessa and the others ran for it, but they were cut down by the stunners before we could intervene.

  "We hit them from behind while they were still concentrating on Tessa's group. A couple of them were tough little buggers: we had to damage them a bit before they gave up. Zara borrowed their tracking device and used it to make a close scan of both the Princess and Lady Lynda. The transmitter turned out to be a surgical implant, just under the Lady Lynda's left collarbone. There was a small scar from a recent operation. Since there was no way to disable the transmitter, we had to separate it from the Princess. Zara told me to take the Princess and she took Lady Lynda. They were both still unconscious at that stage, so I carried the Princess down a couple of floors and hid in a cabin until it all went quiet. Princess Nerissa came round and we decided to make a run for the Astrodome, and that's it."

  "And Zara.... Where did she go?"

  "I don't know, my lord. I didn't see her again after we split up."

  Nerissa and Gerald had come over while Brianey had been talking, and heard the last part of the story.

  "Who is this Zara?"

  "Lady Zara Chekova. She's a close friend of mine and one of the group that has been looking after your sister and Lady Lynda."

  "And you don't know where she is now.... is that right?"

  "Not exactly, Your Highness. I think I have a pretty good idea of where she is now. You see the pirates are convinced they have your sister and Lady Lynda on board the Palomar. Now Lady Lynda is fairly easily identifiable because of the surgical implant in her left shoulder and so, if they say they've got her, they're probably right. The interesting question is who have they got with her, that they think is Princess Nerissa."

  "Lady Zara."

  "It's got to be a strong possibility."

  "What will they do when they find out the truth?"

  "I guess they'll be a bit peeved. It all depends on how long Zara can keep it up. She's a superb actress, so she ought to be able to carry the part off. The risk is that they've got someone on board the Palomar who knows Princess Nerissa, or that they check Zara's bioscan against Neri's medical records. I think we can rule out the first case or the game would be over by now, so that leaves the bioscan. With a bit of luck they won't have the equipment on the freighter to do a full bioscan, so they'll be all right until they reach Parm."

  "What about the Lady Lynda? Will she play along with the deception?" Mikael asked.

  "Good point. She obviously has so far, but how did that transmitter get there? Neri, do you know?"

  "No.... Wait. It must have b
een after the accident. Yes, of course.... Lynda had a riding accident about six months ago while she was home on Gan. She broke her collarbone and I seem to remember that she said she had to have some minor surgery to reset it. That must have been when it was done."

  "So we can assume then that she mightn't know the transmitter was there, and if she hasn't blown the whistle on Zara yet, then she's probably still on the side of the angels."

  "We still need to move quickly," Mikael urged. "The Palomar's a fast ship and we can't allow them too long down on the planet's surface. They'll run a bioscan as standard procedure for everybody on landing."

  "Don't worry about that. The Salamander can comfortably outstrip that chuntering little freighter, even with a head start. Our first priority, however, is to return Princess Nerissa here, safely to her father.

  "Commander Boronin, how much damage has the Cleopatra taken?"

  "She's still operational although we've got to make some running repairs to her."

  "How much damage, Commander?"

  "Well one of her main laser turrets is out of action but the other one is functional under manual control. And she doesn't actually have any defensive screens at the moment, but the Chief says he can repair the shields in under six hours."

  "Hm, pity about the screens, but we'll sweep the area for hostile ships before you leave. I want you to take Princess Nerissa and make your best possible speed to Serta. If you meet any trouble, run fast and duck. We can send a message on ahead but King Harald won't actually believe it until Neri is safely back there with him."

  "The frigate Antares is also in the area," Mikael offered. "She could take the Princess."

  "Now that's good news. She can escort you while you effect your repairs. But I'm entrusting Neri to you, Commander: nobody else. I want her to travel on the Cleopatra."

  "But won't you need some help at Parm?" Mikael had one last attempt to avert the inevitable.

  "Yes, but not from the Cleopatra. She has a strong heart and a brave captain but I doubt whether Space Admiral Wei would thank me for committing any units of the Imperial Navy to a full frontal assault on the best space defence system in the Sector, let alone a ship that has taken such a battering as the Cleopatra. I was thinking much more along the lines of borrowing your detachment of Imperial Guard for a 'backdoor' job instead.

  "I assume, your Highness," he went on, turning towards Prince Gerald, "that you'll be wanting to travel to Serta with your sister."

  "No, my lord, I will not. I'm sure Neri will be perfectly safe aboard an Imperial warship, especially in Commander Boronin's charge, and in any case, I'm coming with you to Parm. I claim it as my right, both as the officer commanding the detachment of Imperial Guard you wish to borrow, and also as the representative of my father, to see that the people who have committed this crime against the House of Serta are appropriately punished.

  "Besides," he went on with a grin. "If the Salamander is as fast as you say she is, we can rescue the ladies and still make it home in time for the celebrations."

  ***

  Although the platform had been cleared of the main crowd, there were still plenty of people milling about, both crew and passengers. In all the confusion, no-one noticed one man standing alone at the edge of the platform with a drink in his hand, gazing out into the open space of the Astrodome. There was nothing particularly noticeable about him. He was of average height and build, with brown hair and blue eyes, a light tan and no obvious distinguishing marks. He had dressed to blend in with the other passengers; smart and fashionable, but not overly expensive. He had spent so much of his life seeking to be unobtrusive, that it had become second nature to him. A manner he put on with his clothes when he dressed in the morning.

  Nobody noticed him standing there and, when he put down his drink, removed the tiny directional microphone from his ear, slipped it into his pocket and left, nobody noticed him go.

  CHAPTER 19

  Francesco Alberto Giovanni Galileo had been born 26 years earlier on the planet Firenze in the system of Etruria. The youngest of three brothers and four sisters, he had been born into a family with a strong naval tradition. His grandfather and two of his great-uncles had served aboard the Battleship Wisconsin at the time of the Canine Insurrection and had been decorated for conspicuous gallantry following the Incident at Magmar.

  His father, Enrico, had served with the legendary Admiral "Red" Shadouk until the reactor accident which cut short his career. Second Lieutenant Enrico Galileo serving aboard His Imperial Majesty's cruiser Indomitable, with complete disregard for his own safety, did enter the cooling tubes of the ship's main propulsion unit and did manually operate the control devices to shut down the reactor, thus saving from certain destruction the 783 officers and men, crew of the Indomitable. So ran the citation, framed and hanging in pride of place on the living room wall back on Firenze. Before he died, his father had been taken in a hospital ship to Petrograd, to receive the Navy's highest gallantry award, the Procyon Cluster from the hands of the Emperor himself.

  Francesco did not grow tall, none of his family did, but he topped his brothers by a good two centimetres and he was very powerfully built. He was considered handsome, judging at least by the reactions of the local girls whenever he got some shore leave. He had a mass of dark curly hair and dark brown eyes, his good-looks enhanced by a deep tan originally from the Etrurian suns but now reinforced by deep space radiation. In his best drill whites for going ashore, he cut a very fine figure indeed.

  He had always known he would join the Navy but his burning ambition had been to be an officer like his father before him. On the day he graduated from Firenze University of Science with his degree in Basic Electronics, he went straight to the local Recruiting Office and applied for Cadet Selection.

  Thousands of other graduates would, he knew, also be applying to the Space Academy over the next few weeks and the selection process would be rigorous. Initial elimination would be done at a local level by an increasingly difficult series of mental and physical examinations. Then the most likely candidates, the select, the chosen few would travel to the Space Academy itself for the Final Selection Board.

  There had only been two successful candidates from Firenze that year, but the Academy transport had already visited most of the other systems in the Sector and there were thirty other candidates already on board. Two more stops made the total 38 and then the transport headed for the Academy to join up with the transports coming in from the other Sectors. All in all, that year there were 262 candidates for Final Board.

  It was not, of course, just one Board. The series of tests began again, but this time they were subtly different. The simple elimination tests had been dealt with at a local level. Now the exercises measured group dynamics, communications skills, interactions between group members under situations of stress, leadership ability. One or two candidates dropped out during the tests but most, having come this far, made it through to the end to await the results from the final interview.

  There was never any fixed number of successful candidates. If you were good enough, the Academy would take you, and Francesco was certain he was good enough. The final interview with the Board was, therefore, a very painful affair. The Board, chaired by a Vice Admiral no less, were very sorry: the results from the physical, intellectual and leadership exercises were very good but the psychiatric tests indicated a weakness in his personality, a tendency towards introversion that was incompatible with the role of a Naval Officer. The Board would, however, be prepared to recommend that, if he were to sign on as a rating and prove himself for a couple of years under deep space conditions, then an application for Officer Training at that stage, would be favourably received.

  The rest of the day passed in a blur. He could never afterwards remember how he had escaped from that awful interview; cheeks red with embarrassment, tears starting at his eyes and a voice so choked with emotion that he was incapable of saying anything coherent, even if he could control his thoughts sufficie
ntly to think it.

  In that one interview, the dream, the preparations of his childhood and adolescence had been destroyed. Francesco had never considered failure as a possibility; had no alternative plan. He could not, would not go home. That was too big a lump to swallow. So he went out and got very drunk, falling down drunk, and when he sobered up he did it again, and then again for most of the next three months. Then he dried himself out, signed up and joined the Navy as a rating.

  Since his initial training he had two other postings before joining the Cleopatra. With his background in Electronics he had no difficulty in passing the exams for Electronics Artificer, and then for Leading Artificer. Heeding the Board's advice he waited the two years, getting his first deep space experience aboard the Destroyer Ganges, but every year since then he had applied for Officer Training and every year until now he had been turned down.

  The difference this time had been the run-in with the Southern Adventurer. His Watch Commander aboard the Arcturus during that action had been Lieutenant Mikael Boronin, and Francesco had been one of the men Mikael had requested as prize crew to take the Southern Adventurer back to New London. The blockade runner had been badly crippled in the fire fight and it had required all of Francesco's skill with the main drive control systems, to nurse her back home to safety.

  Mikael had always been a fair officer and in his report to the Admiral, he had given credit where it was due. He did not forget his old crew either, when his own promotion came through. Francesco had been one of the ones he had specifically asked for when putting together the new crew for the Cleopatra. Furthermore Mikael had endorsed the application for Officer Training in such strong terms that, two days after the Cleopatra had left Runnymede, Francesco learned that he had finally been accepted. As soon as the Cleopatra returned from this mission, he was to report to the Space Academy as an Officer Cadet.

  Now, as he stood outside the airlock guarding the access to the Cleopatra's launch, his head was still buzzing with the prospect before him. Finally he was going to get the chance to prove himself and to show that the Selection Board had been wrong all those years ago.