The Noble Petty, Complete Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 2)

by Craig Gerttula

  “No fair, Regalia!” Yukie pouted. Regalia couldn't hold back a giggle as the empress's emotions swirled like a whirlwind. Yukie again went on the offensive, tickling Regalia mercilessly, until she relented.

  They finished bathing and moved back to the changing area. Yukie, as usual, donned a nondescript black dress, made of cosmic fibers, an exquisite material that formed in the birth of new galaxies. Regalia snapped on her gorian necklace and the intricate hairclip that was used during the sisterhood ceremony with Tiana, Vickie, and Sasha.

  “Where did you get that?” Yukie asked in awe, staring at the gorian necklace hanging from Regalia's neck.

  “Trent gave it to me. It was a gift for all the ladies to thank us for our service to Sasha,” Regalia smiled as she remembered the day of Tiana's seventeenth birthday. Yukie fingered the necklace in fascination, then smiled as she furrowed her brow.

  “You're lucky, Regalia,” Yukie said unexpectedly, words seeming to mask a hidden sadness.

  Regalia placed her hand on the older girls head. “I'm sure he will give you one too. He's just been so busy, Yukie, I doubt he's had time,” Regalia's explained kindly, knowing exactly the words Yukie needed to hear, and she quickly regained her usual exuberance.

  Regalia finished dressing in a comfortable rose red dress, the type all of Sasha's ladies-in-waiting wore on most informal occasions, and accompanied Yukie down the short corridor and into a waiting tube transport, Donnlie and the Empress Guards on their heels.

  It took only a few seconds to arrive at the fleet command deck. Regalia spied her mother, working diligently at her station below the CID, which displayed a sector of space labeled; Sector AD X1908-z, which contained a thousand tightly packed stars closely surrounding a yellowish-green nebula that looked like a hand without a thumb, with a small flashing icon in-between two of the nebula's fingers. Regalia hurried to her mother's side, hugging her as she studied the multipurpose image being projected by the sensor station's PDU.

  “Careful, dear, I'm busy,” her mother said, words serious. Regalia released her grip and moved aside, a little sad by her mother's cold response.

  “Regalia, you will join me,” Yukie stated from behind, having claimed Sasha's command chair as her own, an aura of authority surrounding her. Regalia complied, hurrying towards the ladies seating just to Yukie's left, but stopped when she noticed Yukie pointing to Trent's command chair. She glanced back at her mother, who was keeping her eyes locked on her station, so she decided not to complain.

  As the seat enveloped her, she thought she sensed Trent's warmth radiating from within, but knew it most likely from her mind. Yukie smiled and grabbed her hand, pointing to the massive projection of space being displayed by the CID.

  “Belia, how long till we rendezvous with the distress beacon?” Yukie asked. Belia looked up from her station, lowering her head in deference

  “Twenty-six hours, Empress,” Belia responded with the utmost respect. Yukie nodded, then turned to Regalia, smiling.

  “Good! Then let us move on to the next event. Program, we shall use the CID,” Yukie commanded.

  Regalia stared at Yukie, confused by her outburst. “Use the CID for what, Yukie?” Regalia asked cautiously, causing a confused grin to appear on Yukie's lips.

  “Didn't you know? Toonga, why doesn't she know?” the fluidic sphere of Yukie's personal Program appeared above the ornate necklace she adorned.

  “Rules state a competitor must query the events of the day. If the query is not made, the competitor will be competing blind,” Toonga explained. Regalia gasped, she didn't know, no one had told her! She looked to her mother, who had the same horrified expression that Regalia knew she adorned.

  Yukie stared between the two, then laughed gaily. “This will be easier than I thought!”

  Regalia steamed, but hid it well. “What is this next event?” her question came out harsher then she intended, as well as a few tears. How could she miss something so easy? She couldn't fail Trent and Sasha. They were relying on her!

  “Well...a large scale fleet battle of course!” The fleet command deck's CID shimmered, the projection of Sector AD X1908-z vanishing, before reforming into two large fleets, consisting of 500,000 battle groups on each side.

  “I call red!” Yukie shouted, missing the smirk that crept across Regalia's lips.

  Strategy was her forte and Yukie would soon realize no matter how much of an advantage she may think she had, Regalia was always prepared.

  *********

  A dark shadow crept over half of Planet Don'Alutia's marble-like surface as it grew within the primary viewscreen on the bridge of the NHA Shuttle ABF Fro'Tis. On the planet’s periphery spun a single grey moon, orbiting leisurely, seeming to match the creeping shadow of night that curved over the cloud speckled surface. It was a familiar sight, like a planet he'd known all is life, but thought lost, never to be seen again.

  A gentle hand caressed the nape of his neck, sensing his unease, and he felt a fresh warmth course through him. But the joyous love that he expected to accompany it didn't appear, his happiness still lost.

  “It does look familiar, my duke,” Sasha said kindly, her words overflowing with compassion. Trent did appreciate them, even though his absent emotions made him feel indifferent.

  “Yes,” a short response was all he could muster, he hoping not to belay the fact of his continued unease and cause her undue concern. But as always, he was unsuccessful, her worry filled touch tensing on his neck as she leaned closer, warm breath caressing his ear.

  “Trent?” she whispered questioningly.

  “I'm sorry. I just still don't feel anything and I don't want you to worry,” he answered carefully, gazing at the officers working on the bridge, making sure he wasn't overheard.

  “It is not your fault, Trent...and I worry about you no matter what you do. So please, never hide anything,” she kissed him tenderly on the cheek, then turned her attention back to the viewscreen. A twinge of love appeared in his heart, but vanished just as quickly as the absolute despair of a brain lacking the chemical of joy snuffed it out.

  He turned his own interest back to the planet growing before them, one that could only remind him of his place of birth. The planet destroyed at the whim of an insane traditionalist noble: the Planet Earth. But there were noticeable differences. This planet was an almost pure bluish-green, little of the yellows and browns intermingling that were common on Earth, signs of years of human neglect and desertification. Here, the cities were part of the environment, grown from the native foliage, hiding almost all traces of human habitation, and allowing the natural ecosystem to continue to thrive. But there was one other major difference that stuck home the fact that this was indeed, not his childhood home.

  Orbiting the planet were thousands of wondrous space stations, massive starships, and peculiar orbiters. Twenty of the largest drew his gaze, glinting in the yellow-white sunlight that bathed the stations semitransparent skin. Each of these enormous space stations had two, funnel like ends, their points linked together by a narrow cylindrical tube, providing them an appearance of an oversized hourglass. All twenty were bunched together, orbiting near the equator, staying within the day side of the planet, and angled in such a way that two-thirds of their surface area was touched by continuous sunlight. If his memory served him correctly, these were the standard, large NHA orbital food production facilities, used in place of planetary farming on most, if not all, NHA worlds. Each could produce enough food to feed 5 billion people. The idea was staggering.

  A massive, 40 km long starship, its smooth rectangular hull free of any shield spikes, EW arrays, or LPAs, making Trent assume it most likely an NHA Bulk Freighter, undocked from the wide end of one of the hourglass shaped orbiters. Slowly, it lumbered towards a much smaller space station.

  At first glance, the smaller station seemed out of place amongst the colossal, hourglass shaped food orbiters. Its surface a dull silver and its cube shaped design slightly elongated, with circular
docking ports on four of its six sides, and many varying sized tubes extending from its base.

  Another bulk freighter reflected the sunlight as it temporarily obscured the station when it started approaching one of the open docking ports. The bulk freighter slowed drastically as it entered the open port, coming to a complete stop when half of its 40 km of length had vanished within. Once the freighter was locked in place, the outer ring of the docking port started to extend over the remaining 20 km of exposed hull. Four enormous arms kept the ring attached to the station, each set evenly around its circumference, and, based on the enormous tubes that started to appear from the inside of the arms and attach to the freighters hull, were used to move materials between the freighters cargo bays and the space station.

  Tubes similar to the ones he just witnessed attach to the bulk freighter, but of a vastly larger size, covered the planet facing side of the station, extending through Don'Alutia's atmosphere and vanishing as they approached the distant surface. They appeared to be some sort of space elevator, similar to the ones being constructed at the poles of Alutia'Earth to quickly transport cultivated foodstuffs from the custom food production facilities being built in high orbit to the planet's surface.

  “Duct Repminer's,” Sasha leaned close, “portable space stations used for harvesting resources from deep in the planet's surface. Very efficient and multipurpose. They allow for a type of passive terraforming while also exhuming raw earth for processing,” Sasha explained, having followed his gaze and answering his unspoken question.

  “Thank you...but if they're just for mining, why is that transport from the food production orbiter docking with it?” he pointed to the freighter that was just enveloped by a docking ring.

  “It's a two-way system. So you can move the raw materials into space for sorting, packaging, and transport, while returning the filler soil or certain harvested materials for further processing on the surface,” Sasha paused, seeing his confusion. “Think of it as a cheap alternative to a permanently anchored space station for efficiently delivering goods to the surface,” Sasha elaborated, her words calling back memories of his studies. He knew all this, but for some reason the topic was particularly foggy.

  “Your Graces, we will be entering the high-traffic lanes shortly, could you please return to the passenger apartments?” Captain Kut'Ala asked from his elevated station at their side.

  “Yes, of course, Captain,” Sasha smiled, locking her arm in his and escorting him off the bridge. He wanted to smile, knowing she was pampering him, making all the decision and guiding him around like a child, but he couldn't; not yet.

  They returned to the general seating area within the passenger compartment and found two seats across the aisle from Tiana and Vickie, who both sat in a way that showed they were trying their best to ignore each other. Sasha must have sensed the strange mood in the air, because instead of taking her normal seat on the inside, next to the projected viewport, she forced him in first, then sat on the outside, staring daggers at her two ladies across the aisle.

  “So...are you going to tell me or must I order you two to speak?” she said, words frosty. Silence was their only response and right before Sasha was about to speak again, they both broke down.

  It was a mess of words spoken too fast for anyone to comprehend as the two women tried to speak together, then over each other, pointing accusingly with each word. Finally, after the pitch rose another octave, and Trent was forced to cover his ears, Sasha interrupted their stammering by slamming her fist on the armrest, her cheeks flush and her rising anger leaking through their bond. Trent placed a hand on her shoulder, providing support, like she always did for him.

  “Vickie, you first,” Sasha instructed, her voice surprisingly calm given the anger he felt inside her. Vickie peered around Tiana, who pouted her discontent at not being allowed to plead her case first.

  “Someone finds it appropriate to go through ones belongings and remove something that is not theirs!” Vickie shouted. Trent noticed something flash within her eyes, something he recognized, but couldn't quite place.

  “Tiana?” Sasha asked slowly. Tears were obvious in the younger girl's eyes, as if she knew Sasha was mad.

  “Sasha! It's your fault. I didn't know what else to do,” Tiana sobbed, a few tears breaking free. Trent didn't understand, but Sasha obviously did, having gone stiff.

  “Vickie...what did she take?” Sasha asked carefully, seeming unsure if she really wanted to confront her lady, who seemed on a razor edge.

  “Does it matter? It was mine and neither you nor her have a right to take my belongings. So you will return it to me. I...I need it to survive. To stop the pain!” Vickie's face contorted in rage.

  A memory flashed within Trent’s mind, of a time when he shared a similar look, and said those same words. It was rage born of addiction. Of someone forcefully removing that substance that you thought you required, needed to live.

  Their bond slipped opened and Trent felt Sasha's fury erupting, and it felt surprisingly good. He grasped onto the torrent and made it his own, but then forced it to fade, drawing it away from Sasha, causing hers to fade as well. She spun to him, shock evident in her eyes.

  “Let me handle this. Vin, I'm going to try what we discussed yesterday,” he stated, gently caressing Sasha's knee, knowing what he must do. All three of the women stared at him. Sasha and Tiana with curiosity painted all over their faces, while Vickie, obviously still dubious, seemed to calm, allowing him to take control of the situation. He turned to Sir Seb'Losh, who sat quietly behind them, hiding a smirk a second after Trent's eyes fell upon him.

  “We may be out for awhile, but we will be fine unless Vin says otherwise. So just leave us be till then,” Trent instructed.

  Sir Seb'Losh looked hesitant. “Very well, Your Grace,” but he responded professionally.

  Trent had taken the time to further study the details of the Mendthil Phenomenon, and exactly how its theory may fit in regards to their bond when Sasha had been peacefully sleeping. Vin was most helpful in explaining the intricacies of the theory, assisting him in understanding how it may be possible to meld other BC Nodes into the dream state that were not perfectly in sync. But this would only work for absorbing someone into his or Sasha's mind, not vice-versa, which was what he originally had hoped.

  “Trent?” Sasha asked, unsure of what he was planning. But all it took was a small tap on the side of his temple to make her expression shift to understanding.

  “Ok...Tiana...Vickie...both of you close your eyes and relax,” his voice tender, soothing, trying to place them at ease like he'd seen the psychiatrists of old Earth do in the past. Both woman stared at him like he was crazy, seeming to expect him to burst into laughter the moment they complied. “Close them...it will be alright...think calming thoughts...please,” he repeated, showing them he was serious. Vickie's eyes narrowed, still noticeably distraught, but nodded curtly. Tiana leaned her head back and closed her eyes, having realized Trent wasn't the type to play hurtful games.

  He leaned closer to Sasha. “I need you to hold open our bond...with a strong emotion, the strongest you can muster,” he whispered. She grabbed his cheeks and he tensed, then relaxed as she kissed him deeply.

  “I trust you,” her hushed response followed the love that rose from deep within him, as if her touch had drawn it free of its prison. But again, it quickly faded, though not as fast as before.

  Their bond exploded open as Sasha poured a soupy mix of emotions, led by love, into his very being, making the love feel different, intense, being born of trust and hope. He grasped desperately at the slippery flood of emotions that entered his mind, steadying their wild waves to match his own beat. Slowly, he began to fade, being drawn into the soothing wave as their emotions melded, became synced. But he kept himself from being absorbed, grasping his BC Node and reaching out, feeling for the minds around him. Tiana's the first to allow him in.

  Gently he entered and found its sensation odd, a curiosity and pl
ayfulness lapping at its edges. He entangled the essence, its curiosity allowing him to easily lead it back to his own mind, then linking her mind to his bond with Sasha.

  “This is,” Tiana's voice rose in surprise, then faded as the link steadied and she fell into a deep slumber. Trent released his grasp, breathing rapidly as his own mind continued to fade, finding Tiana's presence within their bond peculiar, her emotions seeming to shift as she tried not to get washed away in his and Sasha's love. He moved to his next target, grasping at Vickie's reluctant mind, and flinched in surprise.

  Vickie's essence was warm, motherly, but seductive and full of anger, fury, and rage. It was difficult to push forward, to reach into that intense fire to link their BC Nodes. But he forced his mind through, letting the surge of raging emotions wash over him, attack his mind relentlessly, knowing he had no other choice. When the initial shock faded, he was struck by an irresistible craving. A craving for that thing, that substance that he knew Tiana had stolen her from. Locking onto that emotion, he pulled her back with him, hoping she would follow, which she did, reluctantly. When he brought her to the bond, her mind flinched, trying to pull back. But it was too late, his grip too strong. He forced her inside the river of his and Sasha's flowing emotions.

  “Please no,” her desperate pleading touched his ears, words of a loss reminded by others love. But he didn't think twice, grasping desperately onto his bond with Sasha while letting his consciousness fade, pulling her with him through their bond, and as he and Vin had theorized, the linked ladies as well.

  The pleasant fragrance born of the wildflowers that littered the rolling, grass covered meadows of his mind, brought his eyes open. He stretched in relief, feeling vastly better than he had in long while, allowing the refreshing sensation of the dream world cleansed by Sasha's presence to call forth emotions that had lain dormant for far too long.