by Lee Watts
"Sire, we've got to get out of here," Merrick insisted.
Alexander remained on the floor.
"We'll mourn later, but we must go, NOW," the captain of the guard demanded.
He helped the prince to his feet. Alexander slid the bracer on as they made their way over the debris toward the docking bay while the troops provided cover.
Entering the bay, they found a boxy escort ship with both engines already running and a crewman waiting. Master Sergeant Marcus Gibson and his squad rushed into the bay to ensure its security.
The escaping group made their way toward the blue and white craft. Seeing who was approaching, Commander Cale Rayne didn't know how to react, so decided the best thing to do was go along as if he was waiting for them instead of Edric. Running into the bay in 'dignified panic' was the royal translator, a professor of linguistics named Didymus Galbraith. Panting, he crammed into the escape craft. Originally designed for a crew of six, the ship was currently standing-room only. Ramillie troops flooded into the bay, forcing Cale to board the ship. He climbed into the pilot's chair.
"That's everyone," Marcus exclaimed. "Take off!"
"What about Lord Canton?" Cale protested.
"Securing the prince is top priority! Take off now; that's an order!"
Seeing no option, Commander Rayne fired the anti-gravity thrusters, lifting them from the deck. The ship lifted and spun to face the magnetic field protecting the bay from the vacuum of space. Edric entered the bay in time to see the escort craft angle toward the exit. Koraden was only a few steps behind him, and the two watched the escaping ship flee into space.
CHAPTER 12
"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;" – II Corinthians 4:8
"Alexander is getting away!" Edric bellowed to Koraden as the escort-class ship jetted out.
"You can't escape me," Koraden growled. Looking about the bay, he saw a sleek, two-man starfighter and sprinted toward it.
"C'MON," he shouted, "or I'll leave you here."
They boarded the craft racing after the fleeing escort vessel. As the fighter exited the Chariot, they encountered energy beams lighting the void of space. Commander Cale Rayne piloted the prince's ship through the wild melee of weapons and fighter craft. Most of the Realm starfighters were already destroyed; Ramillie ships now swarmed like angry hornets around the survivors, and four massive tan platted warships surrounded the crippled and dying Chariot. Aboard the prince's escape craft, Master Sergeant Gibson tried to send a distress signal, but all frequencies were jammed.
"Where are we heading?" Commander Rayne barked, having no destination.
Merrick didn't have time to pull up a starchart so merely pointed to the nearby planet.
"There!"
Noticing a Realm ship leaving the battle, three Ramillie starfighters gave chase, and a newly launched Realm starfighter followed them. Deadly blast of red energy leaped toward the fleeing ship.
"Sergeant Simon," Gibson shouted, "man the swivel gun and return fire!"
Payton Simon crewed the gunner station in the back and powered up the weapon. Angling the top mounted, twin-barreled cannon toward the pursuing ships, Payton sent streaks of blue energy at them. The lead Ramillie craft took the brunt of Payton's counterattack. Its shields buckled, and the ship exploded. Though the Ramillie's two companions swerved to avoid the detonation, Koraden's starfighter charged through the fireball while blasting at the escort ship.
"It's one of our own!" Payton exclaimed as they took fire from the Realm ship.
"WHAT?" Gibson shouted.
"Koraden," Merrick grumbled, realizing who it was.
"Who?" Gibson asked.
"Somebody with a vendetta against me."
"Yes, and I bet Lord Canton's with him," Alexander added.
"Lord Canton?"
"Yes, he's in on the plot," the prince divulged.
Gibson was stunned.
"How far does this conspiracy go?" he asked in shock.
Beams whizzed past the ship, causing Cale to violently role and jerk the craft in an attempt to avoid the deadly attacks.
"Get these guys off our tail!" Cale shouted.
The dual cannon of the escort ship spat blue energy beams in wild arcs hoping for a lucky hit. Cale dove into the atmosphere of the blue and white planet at a far steeper angle than any flight manual recommended.
"Now where?" he demanded.
Outnumbered three to one, Merrick knew they would lose a contest in the open. Skimming readouts of the planet, he shouted a heading, and Cale piloted the ship that direction.
"There's a hurricane ahead, which way do I go around?"
"You don't," Merrick answered. "That's our cover."
"That's crazy!"
"You got a better idea?"
Cale paused for a moment. "NO," he huffed in resignation piloting the ship into the raging tempest.
In the pursuing craft, Edric's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You're not going to…" Edric began.
Koraden didn't speak but answered the question by following the escort ship into the raging tempest. Both Ramillie starfighters followed suit.
A pair of red bolts flashed at the prince's ship.
"They're still on us!" Simon reported while returning fire.
"Take us lower, Commander," Merrick instructed.
"LOWER?"
The ship rocked as a burst of enemy fire grazed them.
"LOWER! NOW! THAT'S AN ORDER!"
Cale wanted to point out since Merrick wasn't in the military, he technically couldn't give an order but knew this wasn't the time to pull rank. Reducing altitude, Cale brought the ship as low to the crashing waves as he dared. Sheering winds whipped them in flight, and pouring rain obstructed their view. Cracking across the sky, a bolt of lightning streaked in front of them.
"We can't stay here; the ship will draw lightning!" Cale protested.
Merrick kept his eyes fixed on the sensor display answering, "Exactly, but it'll be attracted to the strongest power source, and that's not us."
As if on cue, a high-charged bolt of electricity slammed into one of the Ramillie fighters, causing an immediate explosion. Another bolt ripped past the prince's ship, and Merrick knew they couldn't stay much longer.
"I think we've worn out our welcome, get us out of here!"
Cale agreed and sent the ship zooming out from the storm. Breaking free from the obscuring clouds, Sergeant Payton Simon looked to see if they had lost their pursuers; but darting up from the clouds emerged the hunters.
"Two on our tail!" he shouted while firing. Absorbing the full brunt of Payton's cannon, the final Ramillie ship blew apart in a billowing fireball, leaving only the Realm starfighter in pursuit. At breakneck speed, the two pilots skimmed mountains and treetops in their deadly chase. At last Koraden got a target lock and launched a missile.
"INCOMING," Payton warned.
Cale swerved to avoid the deadly projectile, but the weapon's guidance system compensated and slammed into the fleeing craft.
Everyone lurched as the ship took a critical impact. All systems immediately lost power.
"WE'RE GOING DOWN," Cale shouted.
Black smoke poured from the plummeting craft as Cale used what little flight control remained in a desperate attempt to level their descent and reach the nearest island. Straining with the controls, he fought to change their trajectory. "TOO STEEP! TOO STEEP," he shouted as is berating the ship could correct its flight. Undulating waves of the ocean filled the forward view as everyone gripped their seat restraints.
"BRACE YOURSELVES," Merrick warned, as the ship neared the ocean's surface. With a deafening, jolting roar the ship impacted the water, and everyone was pressed hard toward the front as the ship dove beneath the surface. Their seat's safety straps were the only things restraining them from being hurled to the forward section with the force of a bullet from a gun. The main viewport, though made of transparent metal, cracked and wat
er began spraying into the cabin. With the ship still full of air, it slowly began drifting upward. Almost instantly everything went from a wild maelstrom of sound and motion to near stillness and quiet.
"Grab what you can," Merrick instructed, "then get away quick. As the ship goes down, it'll create suction and will pull you down with it. Make for the island. It's not too far off. If we're careful, we can make it."
Surreal seconds ticked passed with the spraying water the only sound. For a pair of heartbeats, everyone was in too much shock to move. Snapping out of it, they began undoing their seat restraints and grabbed anything they could. Alexander gulped in a large gasp of air as he undid his restraint because the protecting belt had squeezed all the air from his lungs during the impact. Breaking the surface, one of the soldiers opened the top hatch, and the men began ascending the short ladder and jumping from the craft that was already beginning to sink again.
"IT'S STUCK," grunted the man seated next to Alexander. Turning, Alexander noticed a man desperately pulling on the release switch for his restraints. During the crash, something slammed against the mechanism and had broken it. Water level steadily rising, the man began panicking and yanking on the restraints with all his strength, but to no avail. Alexander rushed to the man and tried to pull the belts from their floor anchors, but his efforts were useless. The liquid level in the ship was now almost to Alexander's waist, which forced the seated man to crane his neck to keep it above the water.
"Don't let me drown! DON'T LET ME DROWN," the man pleaded in terror as the water grew higher.
"MERRICK," Alexander called out.
The royal guard was helping other men escape up the ladder now turned to see the prince trying to free the trapped man. Slogging through the rib-high water, he crossed to them.
"His restraints won't release! Help me."
"We'll never pull them out, but maybe I can cut them," Merrick said as he withdrew his battlestaff that flamed to life.
The rate of water rushing in increased, one of the free men grabbed Alexander's Arm.
"HURRY MY PRINCE! WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT NOW!"
Hearing this, the trapped man screamed, "DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T LEAVE M-" but his words were stopped as the water level ascended over his head. The sunken man began flailing wildly in utter horror.
"GO!" Alexander commanded the soldier pleading with him to leave. "GO," he repeated, and the man headed the instruction. Merrick moved his blade beneath the waves, but it extinguished his flames. Fruitlessly, he sawed at the straps, but they were specifically designed to not cut or fray. Alexander continued to pull on the restraints hoping beyond reason they would snap free. The ensnared man franticly grabbed at Alexander, trying to use his body to climb above the water, but the straps refused to release him. Water now up to Alexander's neck, the captured man shuddered then his grip release, and body went limp.
"HE'S GONE, SIRE. WE HAVE SECONDS. GO!"
Knowing Merrick was right, and no time to mourn, Alexander turned to move toward the ladder. He caught only a glimpse of it when the water level reached above his eyes. Shutting them, he launched himself toward the ladder and reached out blindly through the briny murk. Feeling a rung, he pulled, and more than climbing swam upward.
IT'S TOO LATE, he thought as the suction Merrick warned them about began pulling him down. Descending quickly, he felt the pressure on his ears before the burning started in his lungs that so desperately craved oxygen. It felt as if he was caught in a black hole. The overwhelming, relentless pull of the suction pulled him deeper and deeper. Opening his eyes, they stung from the salt of that alien ocean, and he noticed light quickly fading as he was dragged to the depths of his watery grave. Then, he felt an arm around him. For a moment he thought some sea predator was about to devour him alive, but a second later realized it was a human arm.
MERRICK!
With the royal guard clutching him they began moving upward at a great pace. Light came back into view just before Alexander's eyes involuntarily shut and a few seconds later they burst from the waves into the surface air. Panting, they both gulped in air and coughed up water then Merrick released his grip.
"Sire, are you alright?"
"Y- yes," he answered after a few more pants and coughs. Treading water, Alexander reached up a hand to wipe his stinging eyes. Opening them, he saw the fire extinguisher Merrick had used to propel them to the surface. Its contents spent, they had only their remaining strength to make it to the island. With the rise and fall of the rolling sea, they couldn't see the other men.
"Slow and steady," Merrick instructed him. "We're not going to get there if we go all out."
Alexander looked to the island, which seemed much farther away than it did when they were going down, but he knew Merrick was right. If they paced themselves, they could probably make it.
"YES," Koraden exclaimed victoriously as he beheld the spectacular splash as the Realm ship impacted the waves then sank beneath. Slowing his craft, he circled around to get a better view, in a few moments the ship broke the surface and his instruments registered human life signs. They were on a heading toward the nearest island.
"Excellent," Koraden growled with a smile. "He made it."
Straightening course, Koraden vectored his ship away from the crash site.
"Wait. What are you doing?" Edric questioned. "Aren't we going to go finish them off?"
"No, I want him stranded, marooned with no hope of escaping this forgotten planet. I'll save him for last."
Koraden relished the thought of Merrick trapped on the underdeveloped world for thousands of years. It was poetic… perfect.
"But if there are survivors they might radio for help; our secret could be discovered," Edric pointed out.
"I don't think they had time to grab a transmitter," Koraden said dismissively "Besides, we're the only one who knows anyone survived. It'll be your little secret."
Edric considered Koraden's words while adjusting the ejection control switch.
"True…" Edric began, "but if you know then isn't my secret is it? I can't risk that."
With that, he hit the button, launching Koraden's ejection seat from the craft. Koraden screamed in rage as his seat bolted unbidden from the ship. Furious, he screamed curses as the seat propelled him away from Edric and his only means of leaving the planet. Exhausting its small amount of fuel, the seat automatically deployed a parachute and began descending to another of the planet's many islands.
Piloting the ship, Edric set course back to the scene of the ambush but was concerned the Ramillie might fire on him since he was in a Realm ship. Nevertheless, since his starfighter didn't have lightdrive, it was impossible to make it to another star system. Reaching visual range, he noticed all traces of Ramillie ships were removed. Lifeless bodies of the Chariot's crew and fragments of the shattered ship floated in eerie silence. Lord Canton couldn't believe what he was seeing; it was surreal. It all happened so fast there wasn't time to think, but now there were no distractions.
"What have I done?" he whispered while gazing at the devastation.
Composing himself, Edric signaled the nearest Realm outpost and stuck to the plan of blaming the attack on the Chinix.
"We'll send a ship for you immediately, Lord Canton; don't move."
"I'll be here," he answered lowly. "I've… moved enough for one day." Sitting back and waited for rescue. Alone with his thoughts, Edric had plenty of time to think about how far he had come and how much further he would have to go.
It took nearly an hour for Alexander and Merrick to make it to shore. Besides them, a total of four others made it: the soldiers Marcus Gibson, Cale Rayne, Simon Payton, and a civilian who served as the royal translator, Professor Didymus Galbraith.
"It's going to be okay," Alexander said to himself as much as anyone. "We survived; all we have to do is have patience and wait for rescue."
"Rescue?" Cale scoffed. "The Ramillie and Lord Canton are the only ones who even know we're here, and they're the ones who trie
d to kill you. They probably think they succeeded, which is why they didn't finish us off. There isn't going to be a rescue."
"You'll not address his highness that way," Sergeant Gibson proclaimed.
"Highness? I don't believe this! We stuck here, alone! We're all equals now."
"NOW HEAR THIS," Gibson barked while using his tone from drill instructor days, "each of us took an oath to protect the Realm, the Charter and the crown. That obligation isn't over 'cause we've crashed. We are soldiers of the realm! We will follow orders, will obey the chain of command. The Ramillie attack is an act of war, so consider yourself behind enemy lines! That means we keep our military bearing and conduct ourselves in the highest traditions of the service until we are rescued or killed. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yes, Sir," answered Sergeant Payton and Commander Rayne.
"Not convincing!" barked Marcus.
"YES, SIR!"
"AGAIN!"
"YES, SIR!"
Cale had snapped back into academy days and momentarily forgot that he was the highest ranking, but the thought quickly came back to him.
"May I remind you, Master Sergeant Gibson," Cale snipped, "I'm the officer here, and you're the enlisted man, so it is inappropriate for you to issue me orders."
Gibson wanted to backhand the pompous commander, but after his speech about respecting the chain of command, there was out of the question. Swallowing his anger, Marcus held his tongue.
"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir."
Satisfied, Cale smiled
"Very good," he responded. "Keep that in mind."
Merrick, wanting to move from the tension of the moment, refocused everyone's attention.
"We need to get our bearings and take an inventory," he said.
"Who put you in charge?" Cale interrupted.
There was an awkward silence.
"I do," Alexander at last answered. "You military follow your command structure, but I'm placing Merrick in command while we're here. He seems to have the most experience, and we can't afford to fight among ourselves. Merrick's right. We need to find all we can. Does anyone know where we're at?"
