by Susan Kelley
Joe slipped around the corner so the hiding soldiers could see him. He used the basic hand signals he’d taught the men before they started out this morning. The sergeant and three others came forward, their weapons ready. He winced inwardly at the amount of noise they made. They gathered at the west corner of the building where he whispered instructions.
“Two of you go in the front, two in the back. Be careful of squeaking boards on those rotted porches. When you hear me go in through the window, you break down the doors. Set your weapons to stun and remember not to aim toward his head. At close range, a stun shot to the head can kill. He’s sleeping against the back wall in the east corner.”
The men split up. Joe worked his way around the chest high window on the other side of the building. He pulled his black, simutex mask over his face. The strong flexible fibers allowed him full visual fields and breathing but would protect him from glass shards.
He waited to the count of one hundred to be sure the others were in place. He backed up three paces from the window and pulled his weapon.
Two large steps gave him the momentum he needed to leap through the window. He rolled and spun as the sparkling glass fragments rained around him, leveling his weapon on the lump in the corner. The miner bolted upright, his hand moving toward a weapon lying beside his mound of bedding. The front and back doors exploded inward as if on a precise timer. The target’s mouth fell open as his eyes turned toward the back door, and his hand continued toward his weapon.
Joe fired as did guns from the front door and the back. The large man slammed against the moldy wall boards with the force of the stun beams. His head lulled drunkenly on his shoulders as he slid sideways down the wall.
“Secure,” yelled the young sergeant. The men moved closer, their weapons still pointed at the downed man. One burly soldier pulled old fashioned metal chains from his belt and snapped them on the unconscious man’s wrists and ankles.
“Are you all right, Sentinel?” the sergeant asked.
Joe ignored the question about his health. “You and your men executed that very well, sergeant. I’ll tell Captain Sontu of your efficiency.”
The young man stood taller. “Thank you, sir.”
Joe walked outside to avoid the stench of the captured man. The other soldiers saluted him as he walked by them, their chins high with pride. He pondered their behavior and attitude toward him while they searched the single room cabin for evidence. Did one small acknowledgement from him mean so much?
* * * *
“You went into the King’s Forest and captured him?”
“You wanted him alive.” Joe had that wary look in his eyes.
Callie sighed, hating that he continued to feel uncomfortable in her world. What if they won his freedom and he chose not to stay with her? What if he wanted to return to the soldier’s life he understood?
“Callie?”
“I did.” Callie shook her thoughts away. “You didn’t tell me when you were going, and I had to find out where you were from Sontu. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
“Must I ask permission for my every breath? Should I wear a tracking piece so you always know where I am?” Joe turned his back and walked out the door that opened unto her balcony. He’d come to her bedroom on orders she’d left for him when he returned from his hunt.
Surprised at the stress in his usually calm tone, Callie hesitated before making a quick denial. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t understand my role here, Callie. My mission isn’t clear cut. The enemies are … hidden. I can’t even fight some of them. How can I protect you?”
Callie could handle this frustration. She’d feared he grew bored with either her or life in the royal court. “I can’t fight some of them either. At least I can’t until they show their true designs. The work I need you for is less full combat and more guarding my person and enforcement of my word. Just having you standing beside me gives me courage to do what I must do.”
Joe said nothing, just stared toward the town spread out below them.
She didn’t know how else to explain it to him. Not in a way he would understand. “I’ll see this man in the petition room. Have Sontu bring the old man and his daughter.”
Joe snapped a salute and then strode from the room.
Callie smiled at his back. They’d made love in her large soft bed in the gray light of dawn just hours ago. Now he saluted her as if that bed wasn’t ten steps away from where she stood. Her smile vanished. Had he forgotten her lovemaking so quickly?
* * * *
The old man and his daughter stood at Callie’s left. Joe could smell the young woman’s fear. She clung to her father’s arm and bit her trembling lower lip with her teeth.
Sontu arrived, followed by the four soldiers who’d helped Joe in the capture. The prisoner walked in the middle of their tight formation. The sergeant bowed to Callie and saluted Joe.
The widow whimpered at the sight of her attacker.
“Sergeant, have the bastard kneel before your queen.” Joe wanted to kill the rapist right now, but he wasn’t sure it would relieve the poor woman’s distress.
“Master Robbins, is this your daughter’s assailant?” Callie’s voice shook.
The soldiers forced the prisoner to his knees. He glared up at Callie, the look in his eyes drawing Joe a step closer.
“Stay away from me.” Being on his knees didn’t dilute the man’s arrogance. “I’m an employee of Hadrason Mining. Your peasant laws mean nothing to me.”
“He’s the one, your highness,” Robbins said. “He killed my son-in-law and assaulted my daughter.”
“That woman is a whore. She spread her….”
Joe kicked him, aiming the blow to quiet him. The air whooshed out of the miner’s mouth when Joe’s boot hit his midsection. He doubled over and then rolled to his side. The soldiers stepped back and let him squirm as he struggled to draw a breath.
No one objected when Joe lifted the bastard’s head by his hair so he could look into his eyes. “You will not speak to this woman or even look at her. My queen wishes you alive, but I can maim you in ways that will bring you so much pain that you wish for death to free you.” Joe glanced at the poor woman cowering behind her father. His mind substituted Riba in her place. Had she suffered the same at the hands of such a piece of dung? “I want to do it, so dare to say anything.”
“What is this person’s name?” Callie asked.
“He refuses to tell us, your highness,” the sergeant answered. He looked ready to help Joe dismember the prisoner.
“You’re a disgrace to humanity,” Callie said. “Hadrason Mining has no power here as you will learn. They will pay recompense to this woman for the loss of her husband. Captain Sontu, keep this man in the brig until a Galactic Law Keeper arrives for him.”
“I’ll see to it myself, your highness.” Sontu directed the soldiers to half-carry, half-drag the man out of the hall.
Callie waited until the door closed behind them before speaking to the old man. “I’m sorry, Master Robbins, that justice brings so little comfort.”
“Thank you for what you’ve done.” The old man bowed. “At least we won’t starve though our hearts are dead in our chests.”
“Thank you, my queen and Sentinel,” the widow whispered.
“Find the peace you can,” Callie said quietly. “I hope you will feel safe again with your attacker behind bars.”
“I shall find no peace or healing, your highness.” Large tears sparkled on the woman’s hollow cheeks. “I fear I’m with child.”
“His child?” Callie asked.
The woman nodded, and the old man sniffled as he patted his daughter on the back.
A grim silence settled on the room. Joe wondered at Unon. Why heap such misery on this innocent lady?
Callie rose and stepped down from her raised chair. She took the woman’s hand. “Might it not be your husband’s?”
“He’d been sick and unable to share my bed for many days.”
“My dear, this evil man had brought so much grief to your family. I doubt you’ll ever forgive him, but the tiny life growing inside you is without blame. He didn’t choose his father, but he’s lucky enough to have a strong, good woman for his mother. Let him bring some small joys back into your life. Do not make him another victim.”
“It will be hard not to look at this baby and see his sire.”
“We have to judge each person by their own actions and by the way they live and treat their fellow humans. A man can be honorable even if his ancestors were the most infamous of pirates.” Callie looked at Joe and then continued. “A man’s honor is his own, not something he’s given by birthright.”
A maid came at Callie’s call and then escorted the Robbins to a legal officer who would take their statements.
“I’ll see they receive credit to hold them through until Hadrason Mining pays them,” Callie said after they were gone.
“Will justice fall on that man?” Joe had had little contact with the legal system until the military court had found him and his men guilty.
“I’ll make sure of it.”
Joe wanted to ask her more about it, but Sontu burst into the room.
“My queen, we’ve just received a message from Captain Edow. He’s been ordered to another star system.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Callie answered.
Joe figured there had to be more to get Sontu so excited. The captain took a deep breath and stared back at Joe.
“He’s been ordered to leave by Minister Smeltz. Edow said the minister is on his way here.”
Joe’s heart stumbled in his chest. Was it over so soon? How had Smeltz known he was here? He looked at Callie, drinking in the sight of her and thinking the previous night in her arms might have been his last. His personal paradise lost as hell arrived to reclaim him.
Chapter Thirteen
“Stall them,” Joe said. His mind raced while he silently cursed. There were so many things that needed done, and he’d wasted time hunting a criminal the other soldiers could have captured without him.
“I can do it,” Sontu said. “How long?”
“At least a few hours. We need to get some security video in the main receiving area. I have the parts.”
“I haven’t had a chance to show you the escape tunnels under the castle.” The captain cursed quietly. “We should have a plan in case they bring a force too large for us to handle.”
The Giroux soldiers were well-trained, but their numbers were limited. They didn’t want to fight a battle among civilians anyway. Hiding was a better option.
Joe and Sontu both started to leave the room when Callie clapped her hands together with a sharp smack.
“I’m queen. What can I do? I won’t sit here and wait helplessly.”
“Speak with your household staff. They have a right to know what’s going on,” Joe answered. “Tell them to run if there’s any kind of fight but defend themselves if they must. It might be a good idea to keep only a minimal number in the castle.”
Callie nodded and both men started for the door again. This time simultaneous squawks on their communicators stopped them. Joe listened as an excited soldier spoke to them.
Two small ships had tried to sneak through their sensors. The vessels appeared to have come from Smeltz’s big cruisers. They had landed near where Joe had put down his own ship. He and Sontu looked at each other, a smile spreading on the captain’s face.
“I think we should go welcome our unexpected and uninvited guests. I’m betting they think we’re ignorant of their arrival. No one off planet knows of the updates on our security grid.”
Joe didn’t smile, but satisfaction filled him. Here was something he understood. How to turn an ambush back on itself.
* * * *
Smeltz arrived with thirty armed men shortly after the sun rose. Callie waited on her raised seat in her receiving hall, looking regal. Joe and Sontu waited a few steps inside the entrance, blocking Smeltz’s progress forward.
“Are you expecting trouble, Minister?” Sontu asked in a polite tone of innocence.
They’d decided Joe would keep to the background as much as possible. He wore a full black facial mask that allowed him to breathe and see but kept anyone from seeing his features.
“Not at all, captain. I always travel with this minimal force.” Smeltz smiled.
Joe was surprised that he recognized the fraudulence in the minister’s expression. Living among civilians had taught him that.
“You understand that I can’t allow these men to enter my queen’s presence. It would truly insult her and alarm me,” Sontu said with equal insincerity.
Smeltz frowned and tried to look beyond Sontu to the end of the long hall where Callie waited. His cold stare snagged on Joe, but then skipped back to Sontu.
“Not a problem, captain.” Smeltz didn’t look happy. “Lead on.”
Joe moved in behind Smeltz and followed them while one of Giroux’s soldiers closed the door on the minister’s men. Joe wished he could have an hour alone with Smeltz. They’d killed all the men who had tried to sneak onto the planet before being able to question them and their connection to the minister.
Callie rose as they approached, her expression cool and reserved. Her pulse fluttered rapidly where Joe could see it at the base of her throat.
Joe wished he could tell her not to worry, but he admired her bravery as she hid her fear from Smeltz.
“Your highness.” Smeltz had his counterfeit smile in place. “I’d hoped to have this meeting before you returned to Giroux.”
“General Drant offered me safe passage. I saw no reason to deny his kindness, nor was I aware you and I had anything to discuss.”
“Actually, there is a matter of some concern to my office. As you know, I’m responsible for the safety of the planets who are members of the Galactic Union. Your planet, though small, is an important member of the Union.”
“I’m aware of the high demand for the elixir only we can produce.”
“Only you, my dear.”
“Please address my queen by her title, sir,” Sontu said. “She’s not your dear.”
Smeltz glared at Sontu and then dismissed him with a shrug. “It came to my attention that since your father’s death, you are quite unprotected.”
“Nonsense,” Callie said. “Captain Sontu is the equal or the better of any military commander in your armies, and my men are very loyal.”
“I would expect you to think so,” Smeltz said, a smirk in his voice and on his face. “There have been reports of brigand activity in this region. Such criminals could easily overwhelm the small squad of men you call an army.”
Callie paused as if considering the matter and then looked at Sontu. “Captain, how many pirates did my little army kill today?”
“About thirty, your highness. Not especially challenging, but a good exercise for them. They enjoyed the day outside the city.”
Smeltz’s smile slid off his face like slime from a rock pulled from the bottom of a swamp.
Callie smiled at the minister. The only word Joe could think of to describe her expression was noble. Her royal air sent his heart racing, and a rush of lust threatened his alertness. He forced his attention back to Smeltz.
The minister’s eyes narrowed. “You were attacked by pirates today?”
Sontu raised an eyebrow. “Actually, we attacked them last night before they could organize their own assault.”
“We’re not as helpless as we might appear, sir,” Callie said. “I hope no one else makes the same mistake and underestimates my army of men.”
* * * *
“You must think of an heir for the throne of Giroux, your highness,” Smeltz purred, all good will and charm after they retired to the formal salon.
Callie sipped her tea though tempted to throw it in the snake’s face. She’d made sure to seat the minister in the uncomfortable chairs near the cold fireplace, but he hadn’t taken the hint. “My fami
ly has a tradition of marrying later in life. My own parents were near forty when they had me.”
“I understand you turned down Geoff Hadrason’s courtship.” Smeltz gulped from the wineglass he’d filled for the third time.
Callie wondered if Smeltz was drunk enough to give away his connection to Hadrason. So far, she had only speculation and no solid confirmation of his collusion with the mine owner. She resisted looking at Joe, glad for his steady presence at her side, but worrying that Smeltz might take too much interest in him.
As if reading her mind, Smeltz glanced at Joe. “Could we speak in private, your highness? The things I would speak of are not for the ears of a common soldier. And why does he wear that ridiculous mask?”
“Captain Sontu insists I have a personal guard at all times. This man is my Sentinel and completely discrete. The position is a traditional one as is the uniform. Anyone who knows the history of Giroux would recognize what he is to me.”
Smeltz snorted and stood up. He walked a bit unsteadily toward Joe. “Your guard reminds me of someone. The way he moves and how he stands at attention.
“How did you know Hadrason attempted to court me?” Callie tried to hide her relief when the minister turned his attention back to her and away from Joe. She should have ordered her marine to leave the room when Smeltz requested it, not that Joe would have listened.
“My department often works closely with the mining industry. Either miners or soldiers are the first to explore a newly discovered planet. We work together to map new worlds and make them safe for further settlements.”
“Exploit new worlds,” Callie muttered.
But Smeltz heard her. “Not at all. History shows that mining brings civilization to the wilderness.”
“We don’t find most of the outworld miners on Giroux very civilized.” Callie didn’t have to pretend to be angry.
