As soon as her head crested the top step she noticed movement. Come on Tiana, they’re trusting you, she scolded when she hesitated. With trembling laser arc in hand, she rushed up the last few steps.
A lavishly decorated sitting room greeted her. Emerald and gold inlaid furniture circled the room; while elaborate wall coverings and programmable matter art flowed over ever surface. Sitting upon an oversized, cushioned chair in the far corner, was a woman with a regal appearance. Her long, wavy brown hair was tied in single braid to tumble over her dark emerald gown that left little to the imagination. Tiana leveled her laser arc, causing a mischievous grin to cross the woman’s luscious lips.
“Shall I consider myself your hostage?” Her sultry voice flowed with obvious amusement. Tiana stared, dumbstruck, having not expected to find a noble lady in such a place, having unconsciously assumed those onboard were servants or crewman. The noble woman laughed with delight, seeming to enjoy Tiana's baffled looked.
“Where’s the other one?” Tiana squeaked, deciding it best not to get caught in this mysterious woman's pace.
“I believe you mean Til'Ma, my servant...who has been stuck with me on this star god forsaken shuttle for the past six months,” the fire that crept into the woman’s tone caught Tiana by surprise. She was about to inquire further, like a proper lady should, but remembered she had more important things to take care of first.
“Wait here and do not contact anyone, understood?” Tiana tried to force authority into her voice, but it made her sound all the more childish while in the presence of the regal woman, who overflowed with feminine sensuality.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, my dear,” she responded with a laugh. The fire burning behind her eyes obviously not aimed at Tiana. She studied the woman for a moment longer, unable to think of any other options, deciding to trust her. Holding back the urge to curtsey, she nodded, before rushing back down the stairs to the crew quarters, where Gil’Da waited with the children.
“Gil’Da,” she took a deep breath, already knowing the response to come, “this shuttle is home of a noble woman and her servant. Do you mind accompanying me to help deal with her?” Gil'Da stared in silence, then cleared her throat.
“My Lady, it is your duty and responsibility to deal with nobility,” she started to lecture, but paused when she caught Tiana’s pleading eyes. She cleared her throat again, “but in this case, I shall accompany you, though that is all,” Tiana couldn’t hold herself back, hugging the old servant. “My Lady, think of your surroundings,” Gil’Da scolded, but with less than her usual vigor.
“Of course, I’m sorry, Gil’Da,” she apologized, “Donnlie, Regalia, please watch over the trainees, we will be back soon,” Regalia and Donnlie nodded vigorously...too vigorously, she thought, they having become thick as thieves since Donnlie named himself Regalia’s guardian and protector.
They returned to the passenger apartment to find the noble woman sipping casually from an ornate mug, while a common beautiful servant stood idly at her side. Tiana studied the young woman, who started to blush crimson when she noticed Tiana’s intent gaze.
“Would you care for a drink?” the noble woman asked as she watched the exchange with a grin Tiana could only call mischievous.
“I am Lady Tiana,” she curtseyed, “and this is Friend Gil'Da. May I request your name?” Gil’Da bowed as Tiana fell naturally into the graces of the court she'd mastered through rigorous training and experience. The lady in emerald gazed at Tiana, taken aback...or at least acting the part.
“Typically I'd find it uncouth for a noble lady to be taking hostages,” her words didn’t match her sultry tone, “but I am so very bored of this life, you do see,” she stood, waving her hands absently at her surroundings. “I am Lady Vickie,” her crisp curtsy put Tiana’s to shame, “and I am humbly under your command,” she winked, and though Tiana thought her words honest, her heart screamed that this was a dangerous woman that could not be trusted. Lady Vickie gestured to the couch opposite hers before returning to her seat.
“Til'Ma,” Vickie waved to the servant as Tiana and Gil’Da sat without question, “two Bulitia Sweets,” she paused, eyes questioning. Tiana nodded that she would be fine with the beverage mentioned, “if you'd be so kind, dear,” the servant curtsied. The moment she exited the sitting room, Tiana’s jaw fell open and a furious blush crossed her cheeks.
Til’Ma’s white dress, when viewed in a different light, was completely transparent. Vickie, having seen her blush, leaned forward with a devious smile that clearly told Tiana what she had begun to assume; that this woman was a traditionalist paramour or realist romantic...she desperately hoped the latter.
“One must make due when caged, my dear Lady Tiana,” she leaned back, guiding her single brown braid to fall across her exposed cleavage. “It is one of my few amusements and Til'Ma really does enjoy the attention, I assure you. But that is neither here nor there,” she grinned, caressing the braid like one would a pet. “I would so very much like to know exactly how a noble lady such as yourself was forced to resort to stealing a starship, and taking poor little old me and Til’Ma hostage?” Vickie questioned with obvious delight. Tiana glanced to Gil'Da, finding her expression one of stone; she never did like paramours or romantics, meaning she would be of little help.
“I would be more than delighted to inform you on the current situation, Lady Vickie,” she let herself calm. “But first you must answer my questions. For it wouldn’t be proper for the hostage taker, no matter she a lady or not, to have to answer first to her hostage,” Tiana responded naturally.
“Well played, my dear,” Vickie laughed with delight, “please, ask me anything,”
“Thank you. I am most curious as to why such a lovely noble lady as yourself is caged on Sir Simwa's private shuttle?” The moment Sir Simwa's name left her lips, Vickie's expression went dark, a flame blazing forth from her eyes, threatening to burn any who dared move too close.
“That pompous ass is my fiancé,” she seethed, “as much as he refuses to admit it! He hides me like I am some hideous creature that eats young children and spits fire,” she raged, her words full of such venom that Tiana felt the urge to sink into her seat. “It is all political, you see, and neither of us has any like for the other. But he has gone too far this time, forbidding me from leaving this shuttle or contacting anyone for the last six months! When he finally returns, I will take great pleasure in castrating him before I slit his bastard traditionalist throat,” Tiana felt as if a raging inferno burned before her, the unadulterated revulsion and resentment that flowed forth making it impossible for Tiana to think Vickie spoke anything other than the truth.
“Sounds delightful,” Tiana found herself caught in Vickie’s pace, “and I know of a great many others who would be pleased to assist you,” Vickie's expression shifted, showing actual surprise.
“Well now,” Vickie leaned forward, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes, “what has that noble piece of traditionalist rubbish been up to now?” Vickie questioned as Til'Ma reemerged with their beverages.
“I shall start from the beginning,” Tiana quickly touched on the important galactic changes that had occurred recently, like the formation of the Alutia Duchy through the removal of holdings from the Hulk'Zif and Bar'Vac Duchy's, followed by the actions of Sir Simwa on Earth and his subsequent confinement. Vickie collapsed in boisterous laughter when she heard of his lies and Tiana had to wait to continue. She then explained how they suspected the plot was so the traditionalists could finally get their long awaited revenge on Knight Captain Quinn.
“That doesn't sound like a plan Duke Zehman would agree too,” Vickie interrupted. “He is much more...direct. If he wanted revenge, he would have just sent an assassin, not pursuing such a roundabout method. He has agents in almost every court in the galaxy that would be more than willing to carry out such a deed without anyone being the wiser. There must be something else going on...something far, far worse,” Vickie fell into her thoughts,
so Tiana decided to move on. As she started explaining the assassination attempt on Sasha, vivid memories stormed back with each word, and she began to shiver uncontrollably. Gil'Da slid her arm around her, providing Tiana some reassurance, allowing her to finish the story without pause.
“That is much more like the duke, dear. He loves to use neural gas because of the way it destroys the brain utterly. So even if the body is healed, they will no longer be a “threat” to him. This grand duchess of yours is quite obviously in the way of one of his grand schemes, so he ordered her disposed of. He does love his intrigue, you see, and is renowned for slipping his own guards, or blackmailing existing guards of his allies and enemies, so that he can deal with them at his pleasure,” Vickie sighed, shaking her head in disgust. Tiana took a moment to regain her composure.
“Once we reached the TSB Fleet Base, we met Commander Talan, headmaster of the TSB General Training School, who provided us with quarters to await the TSB fleet’s return. It was shortly after this that Grand Duchess Sasha disappeared, and at the time none of us knew why or where. Then, a few hours later, a young TSB Trainee by the name Donnlie appeared and warned us about Commander Talan's plan to sell the grand duchess to Duke Zehman for a promised noble title,” Vickie held up her hand to interrupt.
“The duke would never provide noble titles for such a thing. He loves to offer up grand rewards, then never deliver, another of his well-known “traits”,” Tiana stared curiously at Lady Vickie, deciding to ask the question that was itching in the back of her mind before continuing.
“How do you know so much about the duke?” Tiana asked seriously.
“That bastard of an old man is my Uncle,” she growled, “he gave me to Sir Simwa as a present for doing such a wonderful job in his service...the two traditionalist bastards!” Again, the pure hatred in Vickie’s words made her think them true, but she would definitely have to keep a close eye on her for the foreseeable future.
“I see,” she decided to move on. “So as I was saying, after we heard Donnlie’s story, we decided to attempt to locate Grand Duchess Sasha before escaping the base. So we secretly moved to the barracks housing the trainee's who were too young to be assigned a position on a starship. There we met two genius trainees, a girl named Tomi and a boy named Yaz. They were able to access the base records and found that Sasha was nowhere to be found. After some digging, we located a record stating that a personal transport shuttle had been launched towards Earth hours earlier, around the same time Sasha vanished, unbeknownst to anyone on the base.” Tiana remembered her finally comprehending at what Sasha had decided and why.
Something had occurred when Sasha had returned to the ferry shuttle alone and Tiana believed Vin had instructed her to go to Earth, or something of the like. Sasha must have then decided it was just too dangerous to bring her friends along after what had occurred on the Princess One. Tiana understood, but she was still furious, and would make that fact apparent the next time they met.
“That is when we decided to commandeer Sir Simwa’s private shuttle and chase after her. Right now our young friends are preparing us for launch.” Vickie's eyes went wide with excitement.
“There are children onboard?” she asked, voice a whisper.
“Yes, about 20 trainees between the ages of 12 and 15. I could not leave them here. Commander Talan is a very cruel headmaster and would have taken his revenge on them if he learned they helped us escape,” her heart ached at the very thought.
“Could you please call for them? It has been so very long since I’ve been able to enjoy the company of children,” Tiana didn't like the look in Vickie's eyes, like a predator preparing for the hunt. But though her heart continued to scream otherwise, she found she trusted the woman...she’s just lonely, that’s all.
“Ok,” she nodded, “Gil'Da, could you bring the children up and make sure to stay with them,” she glanced to Vickie, unable to keep a grin from flashing across her lips. “I trust, Lady Vickie, you will control yourself? I did not free them from one evil headmaster so they would have to endure another,” she joked playfully, skipping to her feet. Vickie stared in shock, like Tiana had just accused her of trying to kill the emperor himself.
“Lady Tiana! I assure you, I would never perform any inappropriate acts with anyone under the age of 16!” Tiana sensed a shred of honesty, knowing even the most lecherous of the paramour women would not engage in inappropriate relations with anyone too young. But that wouldn't stop them from indulging in other, less scrupulous activities. Tiana recalled one particular visit to the Tileenia Noble Regeneration Spa with her mother, where petty boys were being used to massage oils into the older noble paramour’s naked skin. It just seemed so....wrong...and the memory still made her shiver. But, of course, even that was better than some of the alternatives, petty children being treated like slaves throughout much of the NHA.
“I will take my leave of you now,” she started towards the exit, “and I trust you will use discretion if you do choose to contact any of your friends,” Vickie glared at her, obviously disgusted.
“Til'Ma is my only friend, Lady Tiana. The Hulk'Zif nobility can burn in the Emperor's Fire for all I care. In fact, I'll even provide you and your grand duchess with their access codes, just as long as you allow me to participate in the purge of Hulk’Zif,” Tiana cringed at the ferocity of her words.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she hurried to the bridge, finding Tomi hunching over the engineering station and Yaz studying the helm. The bridge stations, like all other emperor class shuttles, were setup in a diamond formation, with the helm at the front, about two meters from the projected viewscreen, the engineering and communication/sensor stations a couple meters behind, to the left and right, with the supply station at the rear. Then, against the back wall of the bridge, atop a short flight of steps, stood the captain’s station.
“How are the preparations progressing?” Tomi and Yaz looked up in surprise, having been so engrossed in their work that they didn't notice Tiana entered.
“Good, My Lady, I managed to lock Commander Talan completely out from the base systems. Even if he knew about us leaving, he wouldn't be able to stop us,” Tomi explained, gesturing toward the complex diagram being projected on the engineering station. Tiana smiled, the thought of the older man being unable to access the most basic functions of the station, beyond comical.
“We're ready to launch on your command, My Lady,” Yaz followed Tomi, though his voice was barely audible, not even a whisper.
“Let’s go over the plan one more time,” Tiana decided, still nervous about placing her trust in the hands of the two 15 year-olds.
“No problem, My Lady,” Tomi responded first, Yaz sighing thankfully, not one for speeches. “First, Yaz will fly us through the narrow starship lanes in the asteroid belt, than set a course towards Earth. We should be able to get through undetected since Yaz is the best pilot in the TSB,” Tiana sighed when she heard Tomi boast again, how can he be the best if he’s never actually flown a real starship before, only simulations? “We will then take up orbit on the far side of Earth’s moon and try to contact the Grand Duchess Sasha at the TSB Earth Base,” Tomi paused, then nodded, satisfied with her explanation.
Tiana again had to resolve herself to the fact that she was relying on the words of these young trainees. But they were her only option, and she had to save Sasha, had to help her friend.
“Launch!” she ordered, exploding to her feet to point towards Earth, her wavy blond locks falling across her eyes. Again, she felt childish when she tried to act with authority, like she was only playing captain. The only response was the sight of the docking bay door opening and the shuttle slowing floating into the dense asteroid belt.
The trip through took a little over an hour, but would have taken much longer if they hadn't realized the asteroids were actually moving out of their way. This allowed them to set a direct course in the direction of Earth. Once fully clear, they accelerated to a cruising speed of 5,000 kps tha
t would allow them to arrive in orbit around Earth in about eight hours.
“I'm going to check on everyone else,” Tiana stood, then paused, remembering these two were still children, “make sure to rest if need be. There should be open bunks in the crew quarters,” they both nodded absently in her direction, so absorbed in their bridge station’s projections that Tiana doubted they'd actually heard her.
As she left the bridge, children's laughter drifted down from the passenger apartments. Curious, and a bit concerned, Tiana rushed up the stairs to find about half the children, mostly girls, playing with piles of elegant dresses and gowns as Gil'Da and Til'Ma looked on. She glanced around the room, noting Vickie and most of the boys were missing.
“Where are the rest of the children and Lady Vickie?” she asked, unable to keep the worry out of her tone. Gil’Da’s smile vanished at the mention of the other noble lady.
“She is currently entertaining them in her bedchamber’s sitting room, My Lady,” Tiana rushed deeper into the apartments, to Lady Vickie’s bedchamber’s sitting room in rear.
On an oversized couch in the corner sat Vickie, with a boy in her lap and two at her sides, an arm draped around each. The rest sat on the floor around a low table, engrossed in what Tiana recognized as a programmable matter art globe.
Programmable matter was the material used in the construction of almost everything within the NHA that required nonorganic materials. In simple terms, it was the manipulation of matter to provide it the ability to shape itself at will. So when dealing with programmable matter, all that was required was programming the matter with the design you desired, and as long as enough was available, it would automatically form that design. The exact science of it escaped her, but she did have some experience with programmable matter art, having watched her mother create some splendid pieces.
Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) Page 35
