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

by Craig Gerttula

  Legs appeared, dangling just out of reach as the fog began to fade. The creature began to come clearly into view for the first time. It was horrible, appearing to be made of bones, flesh, and darkness. Four transparent wings flapped in unison, jutting from a thin, pink and black body seeming to be made of only skin and protruding bones. It had no face, only a large circular mouth in the front with what looked to be razor sharp teeth, spinning like a vortex.

  Vickie hung from its giant claws, unmoving, and Tiana panicked. Why is she unconscious, she wanted to scream. Tiana aimed her palms at the beast, shooting a bolt of compressed air from her Dai Tempest bracelets, but found the distance too great. The blast dissipating after only a couple meters

  The songs became a cacophony as the fog vanished and a cliff of roughly hewn yellow stone rose across a narrow chasm before her. Along the cliff's face were hundreds of archways, or nests, Tiana realized, many filled with the hideous creatures, no longer singing, but screaming in triumph as the successful hunter returned. A narrow bridge spanned the chasm, leading to another door cut into the cliff’s face, too small for the larger creatures to enter.

  Their salvation.

  “Vickie!” she screamed, realizing that if the creature reached the nests it would be too late. She would be unable to save her. “Vickie! Please!” she wailed desperately. Vickie stirred, her almost completely undone brown braid, twitching against the wind. Two hands shot up, striking the creatures stomach with such force it rose a few meters in an instant. It released an ear splitting howl as it lost its grip on Vickie and she began to fall.

  She’s too high! Tiana pushed forward, desperately pumping her short legs as fast as she could, sliding to the spot it looked Vickie would land.

  Stars exploded all around her as she was knocked back violently by the larger woman, tumbling away, unable to completely cushion her fall like she intended. Her head spun and she tried to recover her feet, but found they wouldn't respond. So she crawled to Vickie's side, her hand brushing against something warm, sticky, and red.

  Vickie lay unmoving on the ground, blood pooling about her scalp, rushing profusely from a nasty wound. Tiana began to panic, thinking Vickie dead, and knowing she would soon join her. With trembling hands, she gently turned her over, relief washing over her as Vickie’s chest rose, and then fell.

  Powerful gusts of decay tainted wind struck her from all side. Her stomach tensed, expelling its meager contents. They were surrounded, the horrible creatures filling the air all around them, landing well out of range, before hopping closer, singing the song of a successful hunt.

  She stood instinctively, placing all her weight on her back leg as she fell into the Dai Tempest battle stance, ignoring the burning tears born of fear that streamed down her cheeks. Two lunged at her at once. She spun to her left to catch the first creature on the side, sending it tumbling into the other. Three more dove forward, and she rolled, catching one in the stomach and the other in the leg. One caught her as she stood, taking her arm into its putrid mouth.

  “Ahhh!” She pulled it free just as a burning pain assailed her, screeching in agony as she tumbled to the floor and into the motionless Vickie. Blood gushed from the nasty stub that showed where her hand once stood, leaving only the Dai Tempest bracelet. It didn't seem real for a moment. This is all a dream, her mind cried. But no, this is real, and I would die, her heart knew.

  She was thrown by a violent wind, the sounds of joyous song being drowned by a primordial cry. Tiana thought she caught a swirling brown blur dart past her as the world began to fade. More screams and grunts, now of fear, erupted in the air around her, as if a massive battle was taking place just beyond the encroaching darkness. But soon, Tiana didn't care, only feeling her fading heartbeat as her warm lifeblood drained slowly onto the cold stone floor.

  “Tiana...it is ok...” a kind voice whispered in her dreams as she floated in the infinite darkness.

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  “You are ok,” the kind voice replied.

  “But why can't I see?” she wondered.

  “Because you have no eyes,” the voice replied.

  “So I am dead?” her words were despair.

  “You are alive, Tiana,” the voice replied.

  “Then why can't I see...or feel...” she wanted to cry out, but could not.

  “Because you have no eyes...no body...” the voice replied.

  “Then how am I alive?” It made no sense, she thought.

  “Since I pulled you free...” Tiana noticed a swirling luminescence approaching.

  “Who are you?” she asked as the light grew brighter, pulling her in.

  “The bond with those you love...be well,” the kind voice faded.

  “Tiana! Oh Tiana!” Vickie's cries of utter despair fell on newly grown ears as she lay breathing heavy at her side. Tiana's eyes came open, her mind confused, finding they were in a tunnel of yellow stone, a dimly lit tunnel like all the rest.

  Why am I not dead?

  “Oh,Tiana! Tiana...my hero!” Vickie cried as she rolled over and embraced her, tears streaming down her blood stained cheeks. Tiana wanted to smile, but the pain from her right hand was too great. She tried to stretch, but her arm wouldn't move.

  “Don't...” Vickie said stiffly as she noticed Tiana trying to move her right arm, which was wrapped tightly against her body. Ash cooed his concern, crawling from her bosom to stand on the immobile lump. She stared at her small catillian, confused, feeling a strange tingling from her hand and shivered.

  “What-,” the memory struck like out of a fresh nightmare. Her hand! She had lost her hand! Sudden shock began to overwhelm her, tears exploding free of her eyes.

  “It's ok...it's ok...” Vickie's warm embraced followed the comforting words, rocking her gently back and forth as her tears tried to wash away the horror, the memories.

  They lay silent for a time, Vickie and Ash's presence keeping Tiana from falling completely into hopelessness, into despair. When the tears finally started running dry and her mind began to function again, telling her that it was fine, they could fix her like they did Trent, when he lost both his arms. But the shock and the pain remained, no matter the reassurance, and she found she was unable to move.

  “How?” she somehow squeaked out the question that found its way to her tongue.

  “I do not know. When I awoke we were here. But I have a hazy memory of fighting off the creatures and my palms are bruised from overuse of the Dai Tempest,” Vickie's explained, her words choppy, voice hoarse.

  “I heard a voice...it was familiar...” Tiana whispered, finding her voice as her limbs began to thaw.

  “Me too...I know it, but cannot place it,” Vickie responded, climbing to her feet. “But we need to move. I do not know how long we have been unconscious.” Tiana's legs began to steady and she found her feet, or thought she did, falling into Vickie arms.

  “Ok...” she whispered as Vickie helped her hobble down the tunnel.

  Their journey ended abruptly, the floor collapsing beneath them. They fell, striking an angled wall and sliding into darkness. Tiana clung desperately onto Vickie as they slid faster and faster, wanting to scream, to cry. But found her voice had once again left her, and she had no more tears, no more fear.

  She was broken.

  The stench struck her first, of rotting flesh, of death, of waste, of decay so severe that she tried to vomit, but found nothing left to expel from her barren stomach. They tumbled into a stickiness so foul that Tiana didn't know how to describe its touch. Vickie frantically pulled her away, gasping in horror, Tiana doing the same the moment her eyes adjusted to the peculiar lighting.

  Thousands upon thousands of corpses littered the floor before them, towering piles of bones set alongside freshly mangled bodies of men, women, and children. Tiana caught the sight of a newly fallen child, a young girl in a giant pile of rotting flesh. “Noooo!” she screamed.

  Vickie covered Tiana's eyes. “Don’t look,” she whispered gent
ly. But she was too late. That horrible sight could never be unseen.

  “Keep your eyes closed,” she felt herself pulled forward as her cries of despair were only broken by the crunch of bones beneath her feet, Ash's cries of anguish, and the sounds of scavengers feeding.

  Time had no meaning in this place of death, of horror, the place where those who fell from above came to rest. A scream told her another had fallen, her attempts to block her ears foiled by her immobile arm.

  “It's the exit...just ahead,” Vickie told, her voice holding no emotion, the woman being forced to witness the horrors around them to allow Tiana to walk in darkness, unseeing.

  The air began to clear. Vickie removed her hand from Tiana's eyes, collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. Tiana followed suit, placing her arm around the brave woman, while trying to shed tears that would no longer come.

  “I think...I think there should be another resting chamber...ahead...” Vickie stuttered, forcing herself to her feet, bringing Tiana up with her.

  Only a short distance down the tunnel, they entered another chamber of grey stone, a resting place for the damned, similar to the first, but with only four people within. Two men huddled in the far corner, whispering quietly, covered in filthy brown robes. The other two, whose faces were much less soiled, looked in their direction. Vickie gasped in recognition and Tiana could only stare in open wonder.

  “Sir Georigi!” Vickie shouted as she pulled Tiana forward, to the man who sat up against the wall, his arm around a sleeping woman.

  Sir Georigi's face, though slightly drawn and covered in filth, was just as handsome as the first time she'd seen it. He wore a torn uniform of black, silver, and gold, and his long, straight blond hair was disheveled. But it was obviously the prince. Vickie released Tiana and rushed to dive into his embrace. But he placed a hand forward, stopping her short.

  “I am sorry, My Lady...but do I know you?” the question seemed unreal. Tiana could barely keep Vickie from falling back in confusion.

  “Are you Prince Georigi?” Tiana asked, finding her voice, fighting against the pain radiating throughout her body as she supported Vickie.

  “Yes, my fair Lady. But how do you know me?” the words were what she expected, seeing the questioning look in his eyes. He must have been severely injured and temporary amnesia was very common when being healed from severe trauma. Vickie, seeming to think the same, recovered, her expression shifting to stone.

  “I am Lady Vickie and this is Lady Tiana,” she attempted to curtsy but almost fell.

  “We are ladies of Grand Duchess Sasha and Grand Duke Trent...the two who made you a Grand Marquis in the Alutia Duchy,” Vickie said in an unemotionally regal tone.

  “That is...odd. I was on Alutia'Earth recently, having been rewarded my mark. But I do not recall meeting either of you...” Georigi had a distant look in his eyes, as if grasping at fleeting memories. Vickie tensed and Tiana held back a cringe. If he remembered Alutia'Earth, but neither of them, there was more to his memory loss then medical tube trauma.

  “Congratulations!” before they could question further, a voice boomed throughout the chamber, the voice of the man responsible for all this horror. “The six of you will compete in the final round...but only two of you will survive. Will it be the Forgotten Prince and Wayward Daughter? Or the Men of Fear and Iron? How about the Gorgeous Vixens of Death? Only two can survive...in the morning we will know. For now, please remove yourselves to a private chamber, for food and rest. You will need it to survive the morrow.” Wicked laughter echoed through her ears as three doors opened in the walls. The two men on the far side of the room eyed them warily as they rushed into the closest. Georigi, and the awakening woman, with red hair, freckles, with “noble perfect” features on a strikingly sharp face, and eyes of a warrior, stood.

  “Tomorrow then, My Ladies,” Georigi bowed as he escorted the confused woman through another door. Tiana wanted to hug Vickie, tell her it would be ok, but she couldn't, fatigue overwhelming her.

  The private chamber was tiny and had only a single bed with a bowl of nutritious gruel next to a bucket of stale water. Vickie helped her eat, putting aside some water to clean Tiana's wound. Tiana clenched her eyes, and her teeth, shut during the process, allowing Vickie to clean as Ash purred and cooed into her ear. After they finished, they lay in the bed together, hugging each other fiercely. Vickie cried all her sorrow into Tiana's chest. The sobs of a woman whose hope had been dashed in the cruelest of ways, to find her love, and to only see him with another, having forgotten her, forgotten their time together. The sobs continued deep into the night as Tiana finally gave in to her own overwhelming fatigue and gladly greeted the growing face of death.

  Chapter 23

  A thin layer of dew covered the reflective exterior of the bundled crates that packed the cargo bay, forming into tiny droplets that grew larger as they trickled down their sides, dripping into a puddle that had formed below. The puddles surface rippled and swayed with every bump as the freight shuttle made its way through Don'Alutia's turbulent, upper-atmosphere, towards their distant destination; the Marquis's Fortress.

  Sasha recalled the operation briefing of hours before and the projection of the massive stronghold, thinking at the time the term “fortress” fit it all too well.

  In the center of the largest forest on Don'Alutia's largest continent, Rova, grew hundreds of tightly packed, pinnacle shaped, tilitium armored towers surrounded by eight battlements, a type of fortified wall. The first battlement circled at a distance of 4 kilometers, standing 250 meters tall, while each of the following battlements grew progressively higher as they approached the inner fortress. Atop the walls spread massive shield spikes which projected a domed shaped ESS over the entire fortress. According to the services reports, this ESS was powerful enough to withstand a sustained orbital bombardment. Alongside the shield spikes, on the peaks of the inner buildings, surrounding walls, and any open area in-between, were tens of thousands of LPAs of varying sizes. The services had estimated that the total firepower matched that of 50 Super-Capital Class starships. Beyond the outer battlement, scattered throughout the surrounding forest, stood thousands of fortified watch towers that spread for hundreds of kilometers in every direction, providing the fortress’s garrison plenty of time to react, and suppress, any possible incursions. It was the fortress of a madman, or typical traditionalist noble, she mused, realizing Trent views must have begun to weigh heavily on her own.

  The only reason a noble would isolate oneself within such a cocoon of protection was for fear of your citizenry, or more likely, the emperor, who would one day purge the ruling noble if their illegal activities were discovered. But no one could possibly think they could withstand the emperor's wraith, his purge troops numbering trillions, his personal fleets, hundreds of millions.

  Sasha glanced towards Trent, who sat silently at her side, expression stern and eyes showing that he was deep in thought. It isn't only the emperor's wrath that this particular noble had to worry about, Sasha thought as she pushed closer, trying to ignore the hushed whispers, mixed with the smell of sweat and fear, rising from the tightly packed Alutia Guards who closed in around them.

  “Stay with me,” Trent whispered, wrapping his arm about her shoulder, seeming to sense the landing before it actually occurred.

  The slight hum of the atmospheric thruster’s ceased and total silence gripped the cargo bay as the Alutia Guards also fell silent. The cargo hold’s access hatch opened and a single guard in combat armor of yellow, red, and white, Sasha not recognizing the livery, climbed through. After a quick discussion with Knight Captain Seb'Losh, the guard hurried back out of the freight shuttle.

  Sir Seb’Losh turned to them, expression grim. “It's begun. We control the freight and assault shuttle landing bays and a few of the outlying buildings. No word from the marquis or Lady Vickie and Lady Tiana’s locations. Alutia Guard team, your duty is to defend the Grand Duchess Sasha and Grand Duke Trent with your lives. You will fol
low them no matter if they dive headfirst into an erupting volcano or attack the star gods themselves! Squad T will be close quarters support, Squad V will take up the rear, and Squad R, you have the point....Let's Move!” the guards saluted as their black and crimson, tilitium combat armor fully extended, retrieving combat arcs from the silver crates that surrounded them. Sasha stood, ready to move towards the exit. But Trent led her to a crate, latching two combat arcs to his back, four laser arcs on his hips, and another combat arc in his hands.

  “Here...” Trent handed her a combat arc after she latched two laser arcs to her hips. Gentle warmth began flowing through their bond. It was different than usual, his mind’s touch reassuring, calming, a feeling that no matter what they may face, everything would be alright if they trusted in each other, in their friends. She pushed back her feelings, of hope and pride; hope that they would succeed, save her ladies, and pride at the man who would do anything for her and those she loved.

  They followed the guards who quickly filed out of the freight shuttle and into the enormous freight receiving dock. Silver crates of all shapes and sizes littered the interior around hundreds of cuboid shaped freight shuttles, providing no clear view of what lay beyond. But Trent was unfazed, pushing forward, moving with a purpose through the maze of crates. Their guards reacted in trained unison, surrounding them, while others took up positions at each blind corner until they hurried past, then sprinted ahead, repeating the tactic.

  “Sir Seb'Losh, find out why these men have no orders,” Trent's voice broke over their private communication channel, causing Lia and Terra to squeal in delight from her bosom. Private Guards were spilling from the freighters all around them, only to loiter in groups, apparently without orders.

  “Yes, Your Grace. But I believe it's because they have nothing to do until we breach the lines. Every strike team has come upon heavy fire,” the floor shook as if an earthquake had struck, and it took all her will to keep her feet. “And I gather that would be Sir Erio...” Sir Seb'Losh finished. Sasha breath caught, knowing it no longer mattered if they kept the ABF Sasha hidden. But even so, she didn't like the idea of placing Empress Yukie and the crew in danger.