They passed through what he thought must be a dining area based on the number and size of the tables in the room, and into another hallway. At the end, he could see K’oron standing by a closed door. “K’oron, my friend, I am truly honored that you would invite me to visit your home. It is something I’ve always wanted to see.”
K’oron bowed. “The honor is ours, Excellency.”
“I must admit I was surprised to receive your invitation,” the Emperor said. “It's been decades since an emperor has walked these hallowed halls. The laws forbid anyone to enter without being invited, so I must confess I am at a loss as to the reason you have invited me now?"
"I would not dare to summon the Emperor to come to me if there was any other way," K'oron explained. "There is much I wish to discuss with you." He opened the door behind him. "Let us continue this conversation in private." K'oron again bowed and gestured for the Emperor to enter ahead of him.
Once inside, Glars'n believed he understood the reason for his invitation. In the corner of the room, in a modest wood-frame bed, was the Terran woman that had K'oron had brought to their world. A V'drellian girl was tending to the Terran, although the girl looked like she wanted to be anywhere but in that room. Danielle sat up in bed and bowed her head upon his entry to the room.
The Emperor looked at Danielle, then at the Citadel Commandant. "K'oron, this is the woman that has turned our world upside down, isn't it?"
"Indeed, Your Excellency," K'oron replied. "Syr'n, you may go for now." He waiting for the girl to leave, then he closed the door and walked over and stood beside the bed. "Allow me to present to you Lt. Danielle Hart of the Terran Commonwealth. She is my guest here at the citadel."
The woman in the bed kept her head bowed. Glars'n walked toward the bedside. He looked at her was a large degree of curiosity. So, this is a Terran. They look remarkably similar to us in body structure. Amazing! He reached out with his hand, touched her under her chin, and lifted her head. Her eyes met his, and he could see an intensity of spirit in them that one rarely saw. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lt. Danielle Hart of the Terran Commonwealth. How would you prefer I address you?"
"Danielle is fine, Your Excellency," Danielle responded. She noted the myriad of emotions layered on his face. She saw excitement, curiosity, and perhaps even a bit of nervousness. She was, after all, technically a foreign invader. Albeit, by invitation, but a foreigner to V'drell Prime nonetheless.
"I saw your battle with Zr'ika," Glars'n tried to start a conversation with the woman. "You handled yourself quite admirably."
"Thank you," she replied softly.
The Emperor looked at K'oron. "So, what is the reason for my being here today?"
"I wish to discuss two things, Excellency," K'oron began. "First, I would ask that you clarify to the people that Lt. Hart is now a citizen of the Dominion. She defeated Zr'ika in ritual combat, and Zr'ika was a citizen. The law says that 'all possessions of the vanquished become property of the victor'. Zr'ika 'possessed' citizenship. Therefore that citizenship now should belong to Lt. Hart. There is a growing dispute of this issue being led by Legate Th'arn. I would ask that you publicly weigh in on the matter so that it may be resolved."
"K'oron, what you ask is no small thing," Glars'n sighed. "Even as Emperor, I still must show some respect to the people. By the letter of the law, I believe you are correct. This woman has a claim of legal citizenship. However, it isn't enough to merely be legally correct in this matter. The majority of the people need to see things the same way as you and I. As long as Th'arn is attempting to stir up the people in protest, I'm afraid that even a proclamation from me wouldn't quench the fires of unrest on this issue. Still, as Emperor, I am entitled to give my interpretation of the law. Oddly enough, Th'arn sent word to the palace this morning that he wishes me to rule on her citizenship claim as well. Only he wants me to refute it. So, I will make a proclamation legally accepting her citizenship, but if the protests of the people continue to grow, it will do you little good. I doubt that Th'arn will simply let the matter drop."
K'oron bowed in appreciation. "Thank you, Excellency."
"Thank you very much, Your Excellency," Danielle said with a bow of the head.
Glars'n gave her a brief tip of the head. "Now, what was the second matter you wished to talk about?" Glars'n asked. "What further mischief are you bringing to my empire?"
"The second issue is, believe it or not, even more delicate," K'oron stated. "Before I was captured by No'tok and his associates, I was listening to a conversation held by three hooded figures. A V'drellian man, a man of a different race, something Rylan probably, and another Terran female."
"Yes, we discussed this briefly a few days ago," the Emperor agreed.
"Since then, I've been pondering it over and over in my mind," K'oron continued. "As I think back on it, I believe now that the voice of the hooded V'drellian man and the voice of Legate Th'arn are one and the same."
"Th'arn?" The Emperor was noticeably startled. "Are you certain? Th'arn is a very powerful individual in the Dominion. Some even believe he will be the next emperor after my retirement or death." Glars'n wasn't terribly surprised. He knew that Th'arn was power-hungry. A conspiracy against me isn't surprising, but against your people? Surely he wouldn't do such a thing. "Do you have any proof?"
K'oron shook his head. "No, Excellency, unfortunately, I do not. I do believe it was him though. He often leaves V'drell Prime on trips to visit outlying worlds in the Dominion. It would be easy to divert his course to that old ship when the need arose. Also, he and No'tok have been known to be friends."
"Even so, I would need more than that to go after him," Glars'n pondered aloud. "He is very well liked by the people. If you can find evidence that connects Th'arn to these conspirators, I will gladly have him executed."
"Then I shall find you the proof you need," K'oron promised.
"We will," Danielle added.
K'oron turned to her. "I thought you wanted me to take you back to your homeworld?"
"I do," she acknowledged, "but I have no idea of the identity of the Terran that is involved. If I were to discuss this with the Queen at this time, it would sound more like paranoia than a warning. If Th'arn is one of the three masterminds behind this plot, it would make sense that the other two are also well positioned in their respective governments. I didn't realize until now how widespread this is. It's not just a plot against the Commonwealth, but a plot against all three major powers." She looked at Emperor Glars'n. "Your Excellency, both the Commonwealth and the Protectorate believe that the Dominion imploded on itself centuries ago and no longer exists. We call Dominion space the Quarantine Zone. No Protectorate or Commonwealth vessels are allowed to enter. The Protectorate established this rule long before the Commonwealth was traveling the stars, because they didn't know what happened here, and whenever they sent scouts to investigate, the scouts never returned."
"Yes," Glars'n agreed. "Our government did collapse, and we had to rebuild our nation. It was decided then that the best course of action for our people was to isolate ourselves from the Protectorate and any other nations that might follow. We hoped the Protectorate would not see our weakened state, and attempt to invade and take over. When we realized that the Protectorate didn't know what had happened, we sent in spies that discovered that they believed that something mysterious happened to us. So, anytime a ship has entered our territorial space, we have destroyed it to keep up the mysterious illusion. That is until your people crossed the border anyway."
"One of our patrol ships was destroyed on our side of the border," Danielle countered. "We were responding to what we believed to be a hostile invasion from an unknown adversary."
"I was told of this," the Emperor replied. "K'oron informed me that a yet unidentified ship fired upon the Terran craft from just inside our border. It was not from an Imperial craft."
"I believe that No'tok and his friends are behind that now," Danielle said. "I don't understand what this gr
oup's end-game is, but I think it'll be bad for all of us. That is why I think that you should reach out to the Commonwealth. If my friend Lakeisha made it back, she would have told the Queen that the V'drellians are in fact alive and that they are the ones that attacked us. Which means they could be preparing for a large assault against the Dominion. With the real threat coming from the shadows of all three governments, I would say that this is a time for friends, not enemies."
"Indeed," Glars'n nodded. "You are very wise for one so young, Danielle Hart. It is no wonder why K'oron spoke so highly of you. Though I doubt whether your Queen would be very open to listening to me after the Drah'jik attacked your scouting party, and killed many of your fellow soldiers and friends. In fact, I'm not certain where to even begin such a dialogue."
"Excellency, I would be honored to make such an introduction," Danielle offered. " I think it's our best shot for avoiding a war between our nations."
"I was hoping you might make such an offer," Glars'n smiled. No wonder K'oron likes her. She is a person of action, just as he is. "The two of you come to the palace tomorrow morning and we will begin our work."
CHAPTER 16
Lakeisha Johnson had been back on Mars for thirteen days now. She was on military leave by the Queen's orders to allow her time to rest from her ordeal. This morning she was ordered to report to the Fleet Command again. Further debriefing, she thought as she closed the door to her apartment. More variations of the same questions. Are you sure it's the V'drellians? How exactly did you escape? Why was Lt. Hart not able to escape with you? Did you hear them talk about their invasion plans? She rolled her eyes just thinking about it. She wasn't sure how many times she could tell them the same story before they would finally believe it. As she walked down the street, she could see various people going about their daily lives. The wealthy and poor, the young and old, everyone came to Market Street for their fresh meats and produce. It always amused her that with all of the technology available for food production and delivery, that so many people from all walks of life still preferred the traditional approach of the farmer's market. A little taste of the simpler life.
She approached the main entrance to fleet command and the petty officer standing watch opened the door and saluted. She returned the salute and continued on her way into the building. She walked up to the security checkpoint and placed her hand on the screen of the scanner panel. The screen glowed a soft green after a few seconds.
"Welcome to Fleet Command, Ensign Johnson," the chief in charge of security greeted her. "You are expected in Public Relations #2. Keep going straight down this hallway to the lift area. Take a lift to the second floor, and go right when exiting. At the end of that hallway is a set of glass doors. That is the Public Relations office. Speak to the petty officer on duty, and they will get you where you need to be."
"Thanks, Chief," she said and started walking toward the lifts. Public Relations? I was expecting more questions. What is going on? Her mind kept thinking about what was happening as she stepped into the lift. The hum of the lift moving was the same as on a Pathfinder. Guess they use the same model on Mars too. The doors opened and she turned right and could see the glass doors just down the hallway. She made the short walk and pulled open the door. A young petty officer was sitting at the desk just inside. The young woman stood upon seeing Lakeisha enter.
"Ensign Johnson?" asked the woman.
"Yes," Lakeisha replied.
"I'm Petty Officer 2nd Class Jannica Smith. I'm to assist you this morning. If you will follow me please," the petty officer finished speaking the last words over her shoulder as she began walking toward a door on the opposite side of the room. Lakeisha followed her, and they entered the room. Once inside the room, the petty officer began giving instructions. "To the left is the dressing area, complete with shower, wardrobe, and makeup. You can get ready there. Someone will be here in a bit to help with hair and makeup. Once you're ready, just have a seat in the area to the right. When they are ready for you, someone will come get you."
"Hair? Makeup? Ready for what?" Lakeisha asked overwhelmed.
"Oh?" Smith was surprised."Didn't they tell you? Well, I guess you will find out in a little while," she said with a smile. She then exited the room and left Lakeisha alone.
Lakeisha looked in the dressing area, and to her surprise found her Sovereign Angels dress armor on the bench in the corner. Dress armor? I haven't worn that since my appointment to the Sovereign Angels right after graduating the academy. She removed the casual uniform she was wearing and put on the dress armor. A few moments later there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
A man in civilian clothes entered the room carrying a satchel. "Ensign Johnson? I'm Roger, and I'm here to get you fluffed and puffed." The man walked over to the makeup table and started unpacking his bag. Then he turned and gave her a good look. "Hmm. Well, you have good bone structure and complexion. I think we can make this work. Sit down and let's get started." A bit later Roger finished his work and began packing his things back into his bag. "You look sensational!" He said as he opened the door and left the room.
Before he could close the door, Petty Officer Smith returned. "You look as good as a recruitment poster!" Smith said in awe. "Once again, Roger has done an excellent job. It's time. Everyone is waiting for you. Follow me please." Lakeisha followed her out of the room and down the hallway.
When the reached the end of the hallway, two Sovereign Angels were guarding the doors. Upon seeing Lakeisha, they stiffened and saluted. "The Queen and Fleet Admiral are waiting for you inside, Ensign," one of them said as they opened the door for her.
She walked past them and was temporarily blinded by the bright lights in the room beyond. Once her eyes adjusted, she could see Queen Constance and Admiral Hawthorne standing at the back of the room. The Queen motioned for her to join them. She walked up to and joined the two highest ranking people in the Commonwealth. "Your Majesty," she said with a bow, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. I thought I was being brought back in for more debriefing."
"Heavens no," the Queen replied, "you've retold the story of your capture enough. Today we are focusing on something else."
"What is that?" Lakeisa asked.
"Your Majesty, it's time," interrupted a man in a suit. He then spoke to Lakeisha. "Ensign, please stand here." Lakeisha took the place the man instructed. She watched as both the Queen and the Admiral were also similarly positioned by the man, and noticed that a camera crew had set up just in the shadows. "Your Majesty, in 3... 2... 1..." He pointed a finger toward the Queen.
"Citizens of the Terran Commonwealth," the Queen began. "Many of you have been watching the events surrounding the Rylan Starburst incident with great interest. While this event has put a strain on relations with the Protectorate, Prime Minister Hobarth and I are working to ensure that it does not jeopardize the relationship between our governments.
"What you do not know is that while this event has been playing out publicly, a different matter of similar importance has also been ongoing in secret. I feel that is time for you to know what has transpired, as it could very well affect all of us in a great way.There is a region of space bordering up that is called the Quarantine Zone. Some of you may be familiar with the name. It was once home to the V'drell Dominion, a nation that disappeared over five hundred years ago. According to the Protectorate records, no one knows what happened to the V'drellian people. The Protectorate tried sending ships into the area to investigate, but none ever returned. Due to the apparent danger of the area, the Protectorate quarantined that region of space. When we signed a treaty with the Protectorate over a hundred years ago, we also agreed to maintain the quarantine of this area, and have had regular patrols along the border.
"However, twenty-eight days ago, one of our patrols along the Quarantine Zone was attacked by an unknown ship from inside the restricted area. Ensign Joshua Whitaker was lost during that attack. His name will be added to the monument dedicated to Commonwealth soldiers kille
d in the line of duty in Deimos Square. As a follow up to that attack, I dispatched the Pathfinder class ship, Expedition, along with Valkyrie Squadron of the Sovereign Angels to investigate. They too were attacked. The Expedition was destroyed, all souls lost. Of Valkyrie Squadron, only two members survived the initial attack. Lt. Danielle Hart and her technical officer, Ensign Lakeisha Johnson. These two were captured by the enemy, tortured, and finally able to escape. Unfortunately, Lt. Hart lost her life in the escape while allowing Ensign Johnson to get away. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten.
"Because of Lt. Hart's assisting in the escape of Ensign Johnson, we were able to learn invaluable information. Most notably, the V'drellians are not dead. They, in fact, are the ones responsible for the attacks against our people. These attacks will not go unanswered. I have tasked the minds of the Science Academy to sort and sift through the data that was collected from the attacks and to use that information to help us develop weapons with which to strike back. I have instructed Admiral Hawthorne to bring our fleet to full readiness and to begin combat simulation exercises to better prepare us for the upcoming battle.
"It was during one of these exercises that the Rylan Starburst incident occurred. It was a tragic loss of life and is still under investigation. As commanding officer, Captain Zachary Ridgeway will be held accountable if it is determined that negligence or wrongdoing led to this horrible circumstance. If found guilty, he will be transferred into Rylan custody for sentencing, as the greatest loss is theirs. Our hearts and our prayers are with the families in the Protectorate that lost loved ones onboard the Rylan Starburst. May the Creator give them strength during this difficult and painful time, and may He lead to court to a just decision.
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