Princess Rescue Inc

by Chris Hechtl

  Wanda paused in pulling up the next clip and smiled. “New frontiers. We're always exploring now. Medicine, the sea, space... ourselves... this...” She waved to indicate their world, “It's new to us. Something new to explore, to learn.” Deidra nodded. There was something in what Ryans said that was similar she realized.

  Wanda smiled. “Many of our people love it; we can't get enough of it. New frontiers, new things to learn, to explore, to see... new places to set down roots too.” Doc nodded. “For some more than others,” she shrugged it off. “Only time will tell.”

  Deidra looked away then back to the Doc. “Can you tell if I'm pregnant?” she asked softly.

  Doc gave her a long look. The Queen smiled a little, proud.

  Wanda chuckled. “Not by one of us.” Deidra and the Queen looked surprised. Deidra looked a little hurt. “We all took infertility implants before we came. He's infertile for another year dear,” Wanda explained softly. Deidra looked crestfallen. The Queen grumbled.

  Sue shook her head, suddenly understanding their intent interest. “Oh it might have worked, trap him into remaining for a family, but he would immediately recognize the trap and deep down would have resented it,” she explained patiently. The Queen's eyes narrowed in thought. “Let it go. Things will happen whether you want them to or not. Let nature take its course,” Sue said and then sighed, knowing what she and Wanda had been saying was falling on deaf ears.

  Wanda nodded. “See, we've spent a great deal of time educating ourselves, not just about medicine, machines, war, and the world around us, but about politics, psychology, social interactions, and manipulation too. In fact we've taken a very dim, cynical view of anyone who manipulates others for their own ends,” she warned, eying the Queen, hoping her message was getting to her.

  The Queen looked wary for a moment then bobbed a slow nod. “I thank you for that information.”

  Wanda smiled. “It's good to have a little background.” She shrugged at Doc's look.

  “Think he'll stay?” Wanda murmured to Sue as the group broke up.

  Sue looked around to make sure the natives were out of earshot then shrugged. “It's up to him. The problem is he's so smart he's stupid,” Sue said with a snort. Wanda giggled.

  “Honestly, he may be giving up the greatest thing in his life to go back to Earth. Sure it's comfortable, fame fortune...” She looked down for a second. “Here I am griping about him and I'm not even brave enough to face it myself,” Sue murmured. Wanda blinked at her.

  “How do you mean?” she asked giving the Doc a wary look.

  “It's just that...” She threw her hands up in the air. “Here I am about to say he's needed here, and then I just realized... so am I. Hell all of us. We could do a lot for the people here. Hell we've done a lot already. But how can I give the man a hard time about being stuck in one hell of a catch 22 situation when I can't say I'm facing it myself?” she asked. “I'm a doctor, should I walk away?”

  “Seems like you just put yourself in his place too Sue,” Wanda said softly. She sighed and rubbed her brow. “All of us for that matter. Lieutenant Perry and the military contingent will have to go back. One or two of the scientists are home sick, and I know that I'd jump at the chance of some decent chocolate and a hot tub any day.” She sighed shaking her head. The natives had chocolate but it was the Aztec thing, dark and not at all sugary. Gregory had tried to make do with it but his pudding had been suboptimal and extremely expensive. “But you're right. We're needed here.” She patted the doctor's hand.

  “Must we choose?” Doc asked softly.

  “I'd say, let the future unfold as it may. We may not have that choice to stay or go. If we can't get to the vortex, it's a moot point and we're all stuck in the bed we made,” Wanda chuckled. Sue nodded.

  “I'm a doctor, sworn to aide those in need of my services,” Sue said softly to herself. Wanda looked at her then looked away. “Out there is an entire planet in the dark ages.”

  “Look Doc, no one is going to hold it against you if you stay. You're right, you could make one hell of an impact here,” she grimaced thoughtful of her own contributions. “We all could.”

  Sue seemed to shake herself after a moment. “But you're right too, no sense getting all worked up about it if we can't go back,” she smiled. “At least not yet.”

  “First things first, we've got a war to win. Night Doc,” Wanda chuckled and waved as they separated.

  <==={}------------>

  The morning of the march dawned and it was cloudy and cool for once. They made a quick start, getting those already prepared out and on the march, with others to follow. Perry was a bit disgusted by the ones not quite ready, even though Ryans teased him about some people not being morning people. The sudden impetus to move and keep up with the others made the last minute feet draggers pick up the pace.

  They made good time due to the Roman style roads and got to their first way point by noon. The cavalry changed horses and then rode out again, keeping ahead of the main army to watch for possible ambushes. The foot soldiers were given an hour’s rest for food and to check their gear before moving out again.

  Perry commented that they needed to watch out for heatstroke. Ryans nodded. “Ya, that was a major problem in the old battles like the revolutionary war. Marmoth had more soldiers dropping from heat stroke and battle fatigue than from wounds.”

  Perry eyes him in surprise then smiled. “Figures you'd know that,” he muttered. Ryans chuckled.

  “We've got a water train with us. They'll set up nearby,” he waved. Perry looked over to the wagons with barrels and looked startled. Ryans followed the look and spotted Deidra with the women. He sighed.

  Perry shook his head. “Well, you didn't expect her to stay behind did you?” Ryans asked sounding proud but resigned.

  Perry snorted. “You're taking that kinda well. Too well,” he said suspiciously. Ryans snorted.

  “I'm a bit more sophisticated remember? I know women can fight. We've got a hundred or so amazons in the ranks. Hell, I've seen her sword fight remember? She's good. We'll just have to keep her away from the front lines so she doesn't get her ass killed doing something foolish.”

  Perry snorted. “Speak for yourself. You and I have to stay out of the thick of it too you know,” he warned. Ryans nodded.

  “Yeah, I know. That so called duel pointed it out to me. I have no place in a melee battle when I'm a total amateur. We need to stay where we can direct the entire battle. I know it's important to lead from the front for some, but being able to see what's going on and react quickly is vital,” he said. Perry nodded. “Besides, I'm not exactly all that handy with sharp objects. I'm more likely to cut myself than the enemy,” Ryans said wryly.

  Perry snorted at the old joke. “Yeah, there's that too.”

  He braced Deidra later. She wasn't in armor though she was in her riding leathers and had some light armor on along with her sword and dagger. She looked like she was ready to fight, but his willingness to go along with her being there seemed to take some of the spark out of her. Her chin was high in a defiant pose; she was quite willing to give a scolding as good as he could dish out. A sense of admiration filled him once more. He shook his head with a small wry smile. “What you expected me to rant and rave and chew you out?” he sighed pulling her close. “I know you too well dear; I knew you would be here with your people.”

  She sighed, hugging herself to him. “I've got to admit I'm a little concerned about your being so near a battle, but I know you wouldn't miss it,” he murmured. She looked up at him and he ran his hand gently through her hair so he could see her eyes. “Promise me one thing, you stay out of it. You're too important to get hurt or killed trying to get in the thick of it for revenge or to lead. I know you have skills to contribute but keep them focused on where you'll do the most good in the long run.”

  “Stay with the other women you mean?” she asked, eyes sparking. His chest rumbled in a chuckle.

  “Oh hell no, I've got to
stay back too. You can be with me if you want,” he said. She eyed him again this time curious. “We need to be where we can direct the battle. If we're in the front lines we can't see squat on the flanks. And getting one or all of us killed right away would tear the army apart,” he explained patiently to her. Her eyes widened at that and then she nodded thoughtfully.

  “No, we need to direct the battle. We've got contingency plans to perfect, and signals ready if we need them. Perry's drilled the noncoms, officers, and knights on them and what to do. Hopefully it works. If not we'll have to adjust in a hurry. We didn't have a lot of time to train, we needed to get going,” he sighed. “That's something Perry and I agree on, we needed more time to train. But we've got to shoot from the hip.”

  Her eyebrows knit at that metaphor. “It means fight when you’re not quite ready, and miss your best shot. This is a gamble. All war is,” he sighed. “The shock and awe alone should help though.” He waved to the cavalry off on the flanks. Some of the men had their rifles slung over their shoulders. A few had them resting across their laps.

  He looked over his shoulder to the artillery train. It was near the rear of the column, just ahead of the supply train. Each of the giant reptilian beasts towed a field piece. They hadn't had time to make many, just an even dozen, but each was going to play hell with the enemy. So would the mortar crews and the bazookas. There were a dozen of each of them as well, with ten shots each.

  Within the supply train Doc and her trauma surgeons rode with full kits. They were all determined to save as many lives as they could. Perry had set up a couple of the convoy units to tow carriages loaded with supplies. The carriages had leaf springs, something new to the natives. They could move faster than the older carriages and would be used as ambulances to ferry wounded to the nearest shelter.

  <==={}------------>

  Doc acidly commented during an afternoon break that it would have been nice to have had more time. Perry snorted. “Sue, ask me for anything but time is a military axiom. We've got to go with what we got, we'll never get it totally right,” he explained patiently. He shrugged, not really wanting to have to explain the obvious to her. “Trust me, every commander wishes he had a few more men, more supplies, more time to train.” He shrugged again. “We don't have it. From what the spies have reported Duluth is about to break the siege or leave a containing force and strike off for greener pastures. We've got to hit him now, pin him against the defenses of the Emroy castle and smash him.”

  Doc grimaced. “I just wish I had more time to train, more supplies.” She threw her hands up. “Sure the ether will help, god, having an anesthetic alone is a godsend in this mess. But if Max had managed to make some coolers we could have put some plasma on ice.”

  Perry nodded. “And if we had more time I could have added another hundred or two of musketeers, fifty more riflemen, and a dozen more artillery units to this,” Perry waved. “We've done the best we can with what we've got. We're going to make sure everyone is hydrated, we're wearing clothes that are clean and every soldier is carrying a basic first aid kit and was taught how to use it.” He shook his head as she looked away and bit her lip. “I know. We all do Doc. There isn't anything we can do about it but hope for the best and plan for the worst,” he sighed. “You've done a lot Doc, think of what you had to work with, and what you've managed to do with the people in the past three months. We're going to do our best.” He smiled a wan smile.

  “Opening night jitters?” Ryans asked as Sue left. From her expression she wasn't happy.

  “Yeah, something like that,” Perry said watching her leave. “She's scared, we all are,” he sighed. “All but them.” He nodded to the general and the lords drinking up liquor and telling war stories.

  “Still think playing hay diddle diddle right up the middle with a frontal attack is the way to go?” Ryans asked sounding amused.

  “Best plan we can do on short notice with what we've got. The shock and awe value alone should make a huge impact. Besides, our vehicles could out run their cavalry, but we'd be out of ammo in next to no time if we tried to use them in a flanking charge,” Perry said.

  Ryans nodded, eying some of the war beasts. “Let's just keep the enemy war beasts as far away as we can. No sense letting them dent or flip a Stryker if we can help it.”

  Perry eyed the giant six legged monstrosities himself and then smiled grimly. “I had a thought about that...” He turned to the stack of ordinance nearby.

  Ryans turned as well, and then grinned. “I thought you would.”

  <==={}------------>

  When they made camp the first night Deidra sought him out when everyone was settled. Ryans however was off on the perimeter of the camp checking things over one last time. She gave him a curious look when he returned.

  “Just checking the perimeter,” he shrugged. “Perry's job, or one of the guards, but I can't help it. Restless,” he sighed looking up at the stars. He didn't like being outside here now that he knew about all the damn alien critters. Then again they were at the center of about ten thousand men and women, not to mention a couple of hundred animals. If anything came they'd find out in a hurry.

  “Beautiful,” she said looking up as well. They could see a purple nebula cresting the horizon.

  “Definitely. You don't get views like this in the city,” he smiled. “The light pollution drowns it all out.” He shook his head. “We were going to bring an astronomer, but we couldn't get one to come on such short notice. None of them believed...” He sighed and looked down at her.

  “Astronomer?” she asked amused. He smiled as she took his hand. He took his coat off and laid it over her shoulders. The heat of the day had worn off, it was now cooling rapidly.

  “An astronomer is a person who studies the stars and objects in space. Like that couple with the scope remember? They're your equivalent,” he explained. She nodded. “They warn us of potential dangers, and inspire us to explore more.” He pointed to a distant greenish light. “I believe that's a planet. That over there is either a comet or a moon. See your suns aren't the only ones in the universe. Each of those lights is either a star or a world. Or a star with its own worlds.”

  She looked at him in stunned surprise. He smiled. “I told you this before remember? We came from another world remember?” he teased.

  She blinked and then laughed a little at herself. “I had forgotten,” she murmured. She held his hand suddenly, gripping it tightly. “They're beautiful. Do they all have people on them like ours?” she murmured then looked to him.

  He shook his head. “Not all. I have no idea how many,” he shrugged. “And it's a fluke to have life, let alone intelligent life...and to have our species on two worlds...” He shook his head again. “We have an equation that predicts things, but we haven't a clue if it is valid or not. It's called the Drake equation.”

  “Is it that hard to believe?” she asked, lips curving in a smile.

  “It's hard to quantify, but to accept...” He chuckled a little. “That I've done.” He waved to the stars again. “But not all life is like ours. Some is so different, truly weird and amazing, or even monstrous.”

  “You want to explore more?” she asked, suddenly upset. He looked at her as she released his hand.

  “No. I want to set up the infrastructure for others to explore. I know my limits. This?” he waved. “This was pure chance. Pure chance and a...oh hell... I don't know how to say it. We're here. That's all that matters,” he said awkwardly, catching her hand again. He pulled it up and kissed her hand gently then smiled as she looked away. He sighed and looked up at the stars once more. Eventually she relaxed and hugged herself to him. They walked like that back to their tent.

  <==={}------------>

  They made it to the edge of the battlefield and settled in at nightfall two days later. It was fortunate that the weather had held so nicely. Hot of course with the summer heat but the thunderstorms had held off.

  Ryans watched men and women scrubbing at their armor
and weapons in the firelight. Even with the addition of chromium and other alloys the iron rusted in this humid weather with alarming speed. He made a mental note to check on their own equipment later.

  “Some of this is nervous energy getting burned off,” Deidra observed nodding. He nodded as well.

  “I wonder how many will actually get any sleep tonight?” he murmured. He was fairly certain Duluth now knew they were here. The Silent Knights were out on patrol, watching for any midnight raids.

  “Not many,” she sighed. She got up and brushed his shoulder with her hand then walked off to lean over and talk with the nearest troops. He rumbled a sigh getting up as well.

  Perry and Ryans met up in the command hummer after dinner. They pulled up an electronic board and went over it again and again until Perry finally decided it was time to get some rest. “Long day tomorrow, we're going to need all the rest we can get,” he sighed as he stretched. Ryans nodded. “Not tired?” Perry asked amused. Ryans shrugged. “It's normal. Opening night jitters. You need to sleep though. A lot of them will be up too.” He waved to the camp.

  “Think they know we're here?” Ryans asked after a moment.

  Perry nodded. “We didn't exactly hide our coming,” he smiled. “I'm going to go check the forward observation posts then turn in,” Perry said.

  “I'll join you,” Ryans nodded.

  Perry and Ryans checked in with Sergeant Waters at his forward observation post. They used NVGs to see the battlefield. Ryans was amused to see the wrecked and burnt siege engines off to one side. He scanned the field and then paused. “I don't see any bodies,” he murmured.

  Perry snorted. “Over to your left. Your other left,” he said patiently. “Beyond that low rise.”

  “What am I looking for?” Ryans asked scanning the indicated area. He noted the reptilian mounts. Their eyes glittered and shone in the darkness.

  “Watch,” was all Perry said. Someone came out dragging something, and carrying something else over his shoulder. He tossed the body into the pen, then picked up and tossed the other into another pen. The animals start ripping at the body parts.