Recycled

by Selina Rosen

  "But you didn't kill him . . ."

  "You think my sister's going to believe me?"

  "But I was there! I know you didn't do it."

  "And you think she'd believe you any sooner than she'd believe me?"

  "I suppose not." She saw the way Drewcila was looking at her, and mistook an attack of gas for accusation."I swear to you, Drew, that I didn't . . ."

  "I know that. Jurak would have had a fit if you did. I also know he didn't do it, because . . . well, he just wouldn't."

  "Then who?"

  "I imagine the evil Atario. Power hungry and stupid . . . He killed Zarco and blamed it on me, which really pisses me off, because I wanted to kill Zarco and blame it on him. It's just so unfair."

  "So that's why all the police and military are after us. They think you killed the king."

  "And so will Stasha. Like I said, she won't believe you, and she certainly isn't going to believe me. She might believe Jurak, I don't know. At any rate, I don't want her to find out Zarco's dead just yet. She's bitching enough now when she thinks all I did was screw and shoot him. Besides . . . the dumb ass actually loved the bastard."

  "So did you . . . once," Arcadia reminded.

  Drew smiled and looked back towards the camp and her sister."See . . . I just don't believe that for a minute. I don't think a person could change that much. They might have removed my memories, but they didn't remove me, and I just never felt anything for him but contempt."

  "And Van Gar?"

  "What about him?"

  "Do you love him?"

  Drew smiled and ran her hand down the side of Arcadia's face."Are you jealous?"

  "You know that I am."

  "Well, do yourself a favor and STOP IT! Don't you start that sentimental bullshit, too, I just can't take it right now. Van Gar left because he couldn't live on my terms. Why does everyone have to get so damned serious? Doesn't anyone just want to have fun anymore?" Drew laughed then and popped Arcadia on the back."Hell, girl! Isn't life throwing enough crap at us right now?"

  Arcadia nodded, although she wouldn't look at her.

  Drew took Arcadia's claw in her hand."Come on, let's get this show on the road. The sooner we get to Hepron the better."

  "They will be waiting there for us?"

  "Most probably. However, I'm hoping that by then Jurak and Margot will have gotten to the news media. If so, I'm expecting a rather uneventful arrival."

  "And we'll be together?" Arcadia asked carefully.

  "Of course we will," Drew answered enthusiastically.

  Dartan woke early, which turned out to be a total waste of time because there was still no sign of the queen. Overnight, news had broken that they'd bombed the capital of Lockhede, and that there was a huge demonstration outside the castle. It was reported that several nobles had committed suicide rather than face the wrath of the population outside the castle walls should they fall.

  Of course he wasn't reporting on any of that; in fact, all the things that were news-worthy he wasn't being allowed to report on at all. Hepron Station was run by Salvagers, most of whom were alien. Everyone here was an employee of Qwah-Co, and as such all highly loyal to the queen. No one was going to allow him to report that the queen was still missing or where she was heading. Any of that might give away where she was. And although it seemed that the military, which had arrived in force sometime during the night, was currently awaiting orders—not from the reigning regent, Atario, but from their queen—no one was willing to take any chances.

  Vehicles, both land and air, were being prepared, and it was obvious that a reconnaissance mission was being launched. However, no one was telling him anything. He sighed. He had been sure he'd been handed the assignment of his life, and now the news seemed to be happening everywhere but here. It just wasn't fair.

  Arcadia continued to play with her wrist com."Well, it's obvious that communications are back up."

  "But?" Drew drawled, standing close to the fire to warm her freezing ass.

  "I haven't been able to get an open channel to Hepron Station yet."

  "Keep trying."

  "Drewcila, we had a plan. A plan to go to civilization and seek help. I think that was a good plan," Dylan said.

  Arcadia laughed and looked at Drew."Little Dylan's afraid to stay in the big dark woods another night."

  "Bite me, Arcadia," Dylan snapped."I don't care what any of you say, something big was breathing on my neck last night, and something with way too many legs to be anything but creepy was crawling on my face when I woke up this morning. If God had meant for us to live in the woods, he would have given us shells like turtles so that we could carry our home with us."

  "And no doubt your shell would contain all the modern conveniences of a space station," Arcadia teased.

  "A little piece of heaven for him and his blow-up doll," Drew laughed.

  "Fuck you, Qwah!" Dylan said angrily."I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I'm cold. I don't think either of you pathetic bitches are particularly funny this morning. I surely-to-fuck never had to resort to screwing some blow-up plastic piece of shit."

  "I'm guessing Stasha wouldn't screw you," Drewcila said.

  "Most certainly not!" Stasha said, her head snapping up from where she'd been sitting staring at the fire."Unlike you, I don't bed everything with legs."

  "Neither do I . . . That thing that crawled across Dylan's face? I don't care what that lying bastard says, I didn't fuck it," Drew said with a laugh.

  "She's never screwed me either," Dylan said with a pout.

  "I told you . . . you're too normal," Drew said.

  "I'm not having any luck getting a link with Hepron Station," Arcadia sighed.

  "May I?" Facto asked holding out his hand. Arcadia handed him the communicator.

  "Why not give it to my sister? Maybe she could have sex with it," Stasha said.

  "All right, but you have to set it on vibrate mode, and I don't know how good an antenna I'm going to make." If Drew was at all upset by Stasha's obvious jabs it wasn't showing.

  "I vote we start walking," Dylan said.

  "I say we stay put and let our people find us," Drew said.

  "And I think it's more likely that the army guys will find us," Dylan insisted.

  "Quiet, I think I've reached Hepron Station," Facto reported.

  Dartan heard the commotion, and he and his camera men moved towards it. A hovercraft landed on the pad just outside the door, and armed Qwah-Co soldiers climbed out and took up position, followed by the queen and her retinue, and the word that jumped immediately to Dartan's thoughts was 'competent.'

  It was evident in their movements and in those of their queen's. These were people who understood who they were and knew exactly what they were doing.

  "Can we please start filming now?" Dartan asked the angry looking gray alien who had spent the better part of the night before and this morning telling them what and when they could and could not shoot.

  "Knock yourselves out."

  "Jesop . . . bring us on live now," Dartan ordered into his head set. And then the words just flowed as they had never flowed for him before."I'm here at a secret location where the queen and her retinue have just arrived." They were digging their way through the crowd as he spoke."In the face of tragedy and treachery, our queen stands tall. All our hopes, all our fears rest on her shoulders and hers alone, and looking at her now surrounded by those she trusts most, I personally have no doubt that we as a nation shall surely triumph over any adversity. She saved us before, and she shall save us again." The queen suddenly stumbled, and was quickly caught by a man he recognized immediately as Chancellor Facto."I don't know if you can see her clearly, she just stumbled, and Chancellor Facto caught her. Her color is very bad, and she appears to be very weak, which would seem to confirm the reports that she has been poisoned. She was supposed to have met us here last night, and she is just now arriving with a reconnaissance team that was sent out earlier to locate and retrieve her. The gods alone know what ho
rrors she has endured through the night, and yet despite her obvious physical weakness and her crushing loss, she's here. And I have to believe that she will be able to sew our troubled nation back together. We are almost through the crowd now." He forced his way past the last few bipedal obstacles in his way, and found himself face to face with the queen, who looked at him and smiled.

  "I'm glad you could make it," she said.

  "My Queen . . . so much has happened, and your great personal loss . . ."

  "Someone please give my sister a sedative. She's very distraught because of our ordeal," the queen ordered quickly.

  "I'm wha . . . ?" Stasha collapsed into the arms of the medic who had given her a shot, and was hauled quickly away towards the medical facility with Margot right behind them.

  "My sister . . . she's a delicate flower, and she's been through a great ordeal." Drewcila stumbled again, and Dartan found himself supplying a supportive arm to the monarch.

  "My Queen . . . are you ill? What happened to your tongue?"

  "Ah . . . There's something wrong with my tongue? Must be the effects of the poison. I sure ain't feelin' in the pink if you know what I mean. Atario had me poisoned, and I have just a few moments ago learned that he had my dear husband killed. Then the bastard had the nerve to try and frame me for it! His attempt at a coup shall not, will not, succeed. My sister and my husband . . . they were very close, and I'm afraid she just completely lost it. I'm still very sick, and it's been a very long, stressful night. You'd be surprised to know how much one person can puke . . .

  "I have much to think about, and consume, and I'm a little overwhelmed right now. I'm not going to lie to you: the nobles have put our country in a position of grave peril. Give me a few hours to rest, time to eat a warm meal and absorb all the data, and I will better be able to address the problems we all face." She nodded her head, and the Valtarian lizard woman took the queen from him, and started mostly carrying her towards what Dartan assumed were her chambers. The rest of the queen's entourage followed.

  "Cameras off," Dartan ordered. For the moment all his reporter's instincts were on hold. He motioned for the camera men and his crew to stay behind as he rushed to catch up with the queen."May I help you, my Queen?"

  She smiled broadly at him."Whatever floats your boat."

  He took her other arm and helped to move her along."My Queen . . ." words which had flowed so easily just moments ago momentarily left him. '. . . I have heard so much about you."

  "Ah, you can't believe everything you hear," she warned.

  "Most of what I've heard has been very good," he assured her.

  "That's exactly my point," she said laughing out loud. They had reached the door to her chambers and stopped. She raised a hand and gently patted the side of his face."Don't get too far off. I just need to get a shower, recharge my batteries, and figure out just what in hell's name is actually going on. When I know all the details and have made a plan of action, I'll want to address the nation. Four hours," she looked briefly at the lizard woman and smiled, "five tops. In the meantime, extol my virtues and make damn sure you don't allow anything in a frame that would give away our position. Hepron Station is a prime target for our enemies as it stands, and with me here . . . well, that's just bonus points if you know what I mean, and I'm sure you do. You look like a sharp guy. Oh, and see if you can't incite the people to riot on the castle, start kicking some noble butt-boy ass. Those guys have really started to piss me off, and it would be nice if they had been crunched by the time I woke up from my little nap. Something to look forward to in these darkest of times."

  "As you wish, my Queen." He bowed low and departed. Drew opened the door, and she and Arcadia entered. The others started to follow, but Drew held up a hand."Where the hell do you yahoos think you're going?"

  Jurak, Dylan and Facto just shrugged.

  She sighed deeply."My brain is tired! Why do I always have to do all the thinking?"

  They shrugged again.

  "Great. All right. You," she pointed at Jurak, "keep an eye on the reporter and his crew. And you," she pointed at Dylan.

  "Damn it, Drew, I'm tired and I'm hungry . . ."

  "And you whine more than my fucking grandmother. Get something to eat, and then make sure Hepron Station is secure, that all our early warning systems are intact, and that all our anti-aircraft guns are operational. Make sure my ship is actually here, or at the very least on its way. We're a prime target for the Lockhedes. I wasn't just bullshitting him about that. I want to be able to jump planet if I have to." This got her a dirty look from Facto, which she mostly ignored."I want the station put on the highest possible alert . . ."

  "What would that be?" Dylan asked curiously.

  "How the fuck should I know? Call it ugly-puppy-delta-red-six-alert for all I care. I just want to make damn sure that if any Lockhede bastard thinks it's a good idea to attack us, we show them real quick that it's not. And you," she pointed at Facto."You make damn sure that my sister talks to no one, and that she doesn't find out that Zarco's dead until I get a chance to talk to her."

  "Why can't I do that job?" Dylan whined.

  "Because I think in your fragile, hungry, tired state, it might be a good idea if some of the blood actually got back to your brain. When you put us on hair-pie-beta-blue-five-alert, go and get some sleep. You can return to your quest to bone my sister when you wake up."

  Dylan snapped a salute, "Yes, sir!"

  Drew looked at the three of them and sighed again."Key-rist! What the hell are you still standing her for? Get your asses in gear, and do my bidding."

  Drew walked the rest of the way into the room, and Arcadia shut the door. Her chambers here were large and lavish, fit for a queen or the galaxy's leading salvaging mogul, and she was, of course, both. Truth was she had rarely used them, and yet had still spent more time here than she had at the castle. She looked at Arcadia and smiled."Gee, I thought they'd never leave." She walked over to the bar and started mixing herself a drink."So . . . let's see. Jack Be Nimble with a shot of Barcadian Rum."

  "I'm surprised you remember," Arcadia smiled."These days I'm mostly drinking Hurling Monkeys."

  Drew looked momentarily surprised."Me, too. I like mine with a twist."

  Arcadia laughed."Well, I didn't expect you'd drink it straight." Arcadia sat on the couch, moving her tail out of the way. Keeping her spikes from puncturing things had become as natural to her as a human not sitting on their hands. Of course there were times when she had to actually remind herself that she was permanently attached to a dangerous weapon. Safe sex for her meant corking the tips of her spikes. Drew mixed the drinks, walked over and handed Arcadia hers, and then flopped on the couch next to her, successfully spilling both drinks. She mumbled curses and wiped her hand over the liquid on her jumpsuit and then licked it off.

  "I'd never actually heard you speak on camera before. Very impressive with all the shall-nots and big words and all."

  "It's just like bullshit, only a little more formal. You have to be just stiff enough that you sound like you know what you're talking about, yet honest enough that the common folk buy your line of crap."

  "So . . . what was with the act? I mean . . . you hardly seem worse for the wear right now."

  Drew leaned against Arcadia and sipped at her drink."Sympathy. Besides, I need a little time to think about everything that's happened and go over all the events of last night as reported on all sides. Find out just where my ship's at." She pointed at her head."Work up a good getting all the people over to my side speech."

  "Oh . . ." Arcadia said a hint of disappointment in her voice.

  Drewcila laughed at her."Arcadia . . . my planet is in chaos, my business is falling into the toilet, and I'm a widow, which means I'm now the reigning monarch if I can get those noble rich fucks out of my castle . . . My castle. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? I'm a little hurt, though. I thought you knew me better than that. Of course I wouldn't think of tackling any of that shit without a
good stiff drink and a really good tumble first."

  Stasha woke to a strange whirling sensation in her head.

  "You're all right," a familiar voice was saying."We're safe, you were a little over-wrought." It was Margot. If she squinted her eyes a little she could put the face with the voice.

  "Margot . . . what happened to me?"

  "You were very upset . . ."

  Memory flooded in as the fogginess left her head."No I wasn't. I wasn't upset at all. My sister had me drugged. She had me drugged so that I wouldn't tell the reporters that she's the one that shot Zarco. That's it, isn't it?"