Tides of Mars (Omnibus Version)

by Ben Winston

  “Twelve hours and nineteen minutes. We should know shortly after detonation; mostly by seeing if the mass weapon is still moving through hyperspace. Scanners will be useless for a time afterword,” Cole explained.

  “Okay, please keep me informed,” Ariel thought for a moment. “I don't know if you're already doing this or not, Cole, but could you make sure Grandfather is kept in the loop as far as our military operations go?”

  “Certainly, Ariel.”

  Turning to Bri'tell, she nodded toward the hatch. “Come on, I'm sure there is a certain young lady that is dying to see us.”

  “Not to mention several hundred impatient Guardians, the entire force of U.S. Marines, and the Goddess only knows who else!” Bri'tell said as he adjusted his duty uniform.

  Bri'tell was dressed in his fleet duty Uniform, but Ariel chose the Guardian formal dress uniform since it was the first time she was meeting the group. Cole had told her that it could well be the last since, by and large, the Guardians never gathered in one place like this.

  When she got to the ramp however, she almost fell over laughing. Indeed the Guardians had formed her honor guard, but each and every one of them was only wearing the very form fitting body armor that Ariel herself wore under her clothes, and the shoulder guard that denoted them as Guardians.

  “Hs'ean put you guys up to this didn't she?” Ariel asked, still laughing.

  A grinning younger man, dressed in the bodysuit, saluted her. “Indeed, Highness. She said it would help break the ice. I'm Guardian General Maas' id Uur, of Thralcas Nine. It is a pleasure to meet you, Milady. Other than yourself, I am senior among our peers present.”

  Ariel nodded. “Cole, please make sure my words go out to all the Guardians present and their respective AI.”

  “Of course, Highness,” Cole said. His use of her title told her she was being transmitted.

  “I'm really sorry for keeping all of you bouncing around the fleet for the last week. Things have gotten a little busy around here lately,” she said.

  “I'm sure at least most of us understand, Milady. I think most of us have heard there's a war going on,” he said, grinning.

  After saluting the General, Bri'tell moved back to let him escort Ariel down the ramp and into the house. Technically, Bri'tell outranked the General because he was a Prince, but the General was also a Guardian, and Bri'tell wasn't.

  At the bottom of the ramp stood a grinning mKail waiting for her friends. Next to her was a smiling Alex holding hands with a grinning Karen.

  After greeting mKail and hugging her mothers, Ariel stepped back.

  “Where's Dad? I thought he came down to meet with the Marines?”

  mKail let Alex answer. “He did. In fact, he's out there right now. He wanted to bring the General here to meet you when you landed, but we managed to convince him that you had more pressing matters to deal with first.”

  “Thanks for that. I did expect to see Taylor and Wendy here though,” Ariel said frowning.

  Alex had a sudden coughing fit, and Karen blushed, so Guardian General Maas answered. “Since they are the first two official Guardians from Earth, coupled with their exploits so far, they are somewhat popular with their peers, I gave them leave to meet you later, Highness.”

  Ariel smiled at him. “If that's the case, then I'm happy for them. On our way down, I saw Betty and her crew busy out front. What's that about?”

  “Do you remember when Cr'ale made me your stead holder?” Alex asked. When Ariel nodded, she continued. “Well, when I drew up the formal protocols for the household, I set the rule for visiting Guardians to be treated as VIPs. I'd completely forgotten about it, until the trucks started arriving the day before yesterday. When I asked Betty what was going on, the reply I got was that she was getting the supplies she needed to feed the visiting dignitaries. She's holding an outside banquet tonight in their honor.”

  Ariel grinned. “Well! I hope I'm invited because that smells wonderful!”

  Alex nodded but looked thoughtful. “I made a decision on your behalf. The General disagrees with me on this, but I insisted on your behalf. I hope it was okay.”

  “What is it, Alex?” Ariel asked. “Let's go inside, it might be evening, but it's still hot out here, and I can see the other Guardians starting to sweat.”

  “Well, it's the banquet. Since it's in honor of the Guardians, I made General Maas the Guest of Honor since he represents the Guardians. Basically, he'll be sitting in the center seat tonight. You'll still be at the head table, but I tried to make it so tonight was about the Guardians, not you,” Alex explained.

  “That's perfect, Alex. You did exactly right,” Ariel said kissing her on the cheek. “General, I know we haven't met before, and you don't know me, except perhaps by reputation. I was born and raised here, in fact only a few miles from this spot. While we do have royalty on earth, they rule only their respective countries.

  “We do not have royalty in this country, so I wasn't raised around it. I'm not a big fan of class distinctions. I believe in giving respect and honor where it's deserved. Tonight is about the Guardians, not me. While I may be a Guardian, tonight, I am nothing more than one among many. I only wish we could have our AI with us.”

  General Maas listened intently to his future Empress. Smiling more deeply with every word she said. He had a feeling he was going to like her – beyond what her reputation had already instilled in him.

  “Highness, I understand completely, and please forgive my objections to your Holder. I am used to dealing with Nobles. I think, after meeting and listening to you talking to the people here, I can finally tell the difference between Royalty and Nobility,” He bowed to her. “Not all of our people are going to be crazy about it, but they will accept it. Perhaps, in time, they will also get over their ingrained 'nobility'.”

  Ariel returned the bow. “I noticed you didn't mention your own nobility, General. May I asked what it is?”

  “It isn't something I like to speak of, Highness. However, it is public knowledge. The late Baron Altrov, may he forever be lost in the void, was my brother-in-law. Ensign D'espie of the Divine Light was my son.” He held up his hand to forestall her apologies. “My wife chose to return to her family after I accepted the role of Guardian. When I refused to become a puppet to the nobles like many of our brothers and sisters, I was disowned and supposedly stripped of my titles by Altrov. Although the Senate backed him, the Emperor never approved it. Since all titles and honors come from the Emperor, the final decision was his.

  “As for D'espie, Altrov raised him filling his head with poison and lies. You acted rightly by killing him.” The man said. “If I'd known he'd become a traitor, I would have killed him myself.”

  Ariel nodded. “I understand, General. I'm sorry to have revisited that pain upon you.”

  Maas shook his head. “Think nothing of it, Highness. I prefer to think of myself as a Guardian now. I live to serve the people of the Empire in the name of the Emperor and yourself. I have no life before becoming a Guardian. My family is the Guardians and my House is the Empire.”

  Ariel's respect for the man grew as she listened to his words. “We all benefit by your service, Maas. I only wish Grandfather could be here tonight as well. I'm led to believe this is the first time all the loyal Guardians have been gathered in one place?”

  “Yes Highness. This is the first time there has been this large of a gathering of the Guardians. Even in the Core Worlds, there is never more than fifty Guardians in the same sector of space. As it is right now, all but one still worthy of that title is in this system, and he is in another Galaxy,” Maas replied.

  “May the Goddess watch over and protect him,” Ariel said. “Forgive me for changing the subject, but when will the feast be ready, Alex?”

  “I think it's ready now, all you two need to do is go out there. Of course, if you can give the other Guardians that met you a few more minutes to get changed, I'm sure they'd appreciate it,” Alex replied.

  Ariel
nodded. “I think we can do that. I'm sure the General would like to put his uniform back on as well. Unless you'd like to have all the women drooling out there, Maas?”

  Maas chuckled. “Uh no, Highness. I'll leave that to you. Please excuse me, and I'll get changed.”

  “Of course, I'll just head out and mingle for a bit. Maybe I'll see if I can find Wendy and Taylor,” Ariel said. “Alex, when is their pinning ceremony planned?”

  “After the feast, Ariel. You and the General will be doing the honors tonight. Hs'ean sends her regrets but with the battle this close she felt she would need to stay up there,” Alex replied. General Maas, bowed his head to Ariel and the ladies, before excusing himself to change.

  “That's fine. I'll actually be returning as soon as my duties are finished down here. I'll have to grab some sleep on Cole. I'd like to take mKail with us this time, do you think you can handle the extra load if I do?” Ariel asked.

  “Sweetheart, I think you'd have a stow-away if you tried to leave her behind this time,” Karen said.

  Alex nodded. “We'll handle it, Ariel. Karen's right though, mKail needs to go with you.” All three of them looked over to where Bri'tell and mKail were standing talking quietly.

  “Yeah, we missed her too. It just seemed so strange not having her with me,” Ariel said.

  “Go on, Sweetheart. Spend some time with them. In your position, that might be harder and harder to do in the coming days,” Karen said, nudging her daughter in the right direction. Ariel smiled back at her mother's as she walked over to the pair.

  The feast had been a big success. Even Cr'ale had given a speech, via tele-presence to those assembled. Wendy and Taylor got a standing ovation when Ariel told of their accomplishments at the battle of Vega terminus.

  There had been many questions about the two new Guardian ships. Ariel would have been nervous about it except that each of these men and women had been triple verified against being security risks.

  Ariel was surprised to see Nicole with Wendy. Like Taylor, Wendy had chosen to pilot her own ship, but had chosen Nicole as her copilot. Taylor had a shy Lieutenant as her copilot, and it looked like there might be more there than a professional partnership. Ariel was happy for her friends, and told them so. Quietly, she took Wendy to the side and asked her to stop by the Liner Brer'ant Fleur on her way out of the system. Wendy said she'd be happy to.

  Ariel also made it out to the guard post where her father was entertaining the U.S. Marine General, a man he introduced as General Neil McCallister. The other man present Ariel vaguely recognized. Luke introduced him as Colonel James Grady. The name rang a bell for her, and she remembered.

  “Didn't I pee on your lap once?” Ariel said, grinning.

  “There is no possible way you can remember that, young lady!” he said and held out his hand.

  “Well, maybe not, but I do recognize you, Colonel. How are you?” Ariel replied.

  “I'm good, thanks. I hear you've had a few things going on in your life. You're an Empress now?” Grady asked.

  “No, not quite. Just a Princess,” Ariel replied, grinning. “I hope my orders to my people haven't caused you too many problems, General?”

  “Well, my orders were to come out here and arrest everyone. I don't suppose you'd be willing to surrender?”McCallister asked.

  Ariel chuckled. “Sorry, General. I can't do that.”

  “I didn't think so, but it never hurts to ask. Can you tell me what all of this is about?” he asked, waving to the array of small ships parked all around the compound, but still inside the shield.

  “Sure, but I don't think you'd understand very much of it. These ships, and the men and women that fly in them, are what is left of the Guardian fleet. They are elite men and women that, during peace time, work very much like federal marshals do. Now, though, they are scouts and spies. I had need to speak to all of them, so I asked them all here so I could. A good share of them will be leaving again tomorrow as they get their new assignments.”

  “So these folks really do believe you are their Imperial Princess?” General McCallister asked.

  “Yes, they do. It's even been genetically verified. Trust me here, their genetic testing is far more accurate than what's available here. The Emperor himself, in person, named me his heir. Even without all the testing, that alone would make me the Imperial Princess,” Ariel explained a little miffed.

  “Ariel, the General is a soldier, not a politician. I'm sure he meant no offense by his question. You know we tend to be more plainly spoken than most folks are comfortable with,” Luke said.

  Ariel nodded. “You're right; I'm sorry General. I actually prefer plain speech to the double talk that politicos use anyway.”

  “I'm not used to talking to beautiful, young, Princess's either. I prefer hollering at troops and issuing orders on a battle field,” McCallister replied.

  “Sir, has Colonel Janis had time to make his proposal to you?” Ariel asked.

  “He has, but I'm still a little fuzzy on the details. Mainly, why on Earth would you need troops?” McCallister said.

  “Well, simply put, the republican attack took us by surprise. We do still have a vast military, but it's spread all over the quadrant. In fact, most of our troops are involved defending the core worlds of the Empire, while the rest are holding strategic locations.”

  “Until recently, the last few months in fact, Earth hasn't even been on anyone's radar as a strategic anything. We were an Imperial protectorate on the fringes of the Empire whose only strategic value was as a buffer between the Empire and a race of intergalactic invaders.”

  “It was later learned that the Slaving Guild, now known as the Republicans, had been systematically raiding this planet for slaves and other resources. Because of that, it was decided that a Guardian be stationed here to monitor the invaders, and to limit the damage the slavers where doing to this world. So, other than the one Guardian, there was no reason to have any military presence here at all, especially since you had the means of detecting anything significant.” Ariel explained.

  “So basically, you need troops because all of yours are occupied elsewhere?” McCallister asked.

  “Mostly, yes, but we've also taken heavy losses. What's going to arrive here in the next couple of days should mostly take place in space, but if it does make it to the planet, we simply don't have enough ground forces to protect every one, and you don't have the technology to inflict telling damage on the enemy,” Ariel explained.

  McCallister smiled. “We might surprise you, young lady.”

  “That's what I was afraid of.” She touched her ear so everyone knew she was making a call. “Master Chief, please report to the Marine Mission outpost in full assault gear, ASAP. Please pick up Lieutenant Condell on your way out.” When she finished her call, she looked at Colonel Grady. “Colonel, would you please ask two of your Marines to report here, armed. If one of them could be armed with your M60 or another squad assault weapon, that would be best.”

  “I know just the men for the job. General?” Grady asked.

  “I think I know what she's up to, go ahead.” McCallister said. “Are you sure about this, Milady? Your man could get killed.”

  “General, she asked the Master Chief to bring Condell back out here in the event one of your men is wounded. Our battle armor is actually stronger than the armor you use on tanks and armored assault vehicles. Not even a fifty cal would make one of us do more than stumble,” Luke explained. “Just so you know how certain she is, the man she asked to be your target is her future husband. Fleet Master Chief Bri'tell, Prince Consort to her Imperial Majesty Ariel Janis-Moran-Parker, Heir Apparent to the Empire of Stars. I dare say she loves him more than she loves me.”

  “Oh, Daddy, you know you'll always have a special place in my heart,” Ariel said and slapped him on the shoulder

  “So, while we're waiting for the troops, I'm curious. Since she's the heir, and you're her father, what does that make you?” Grady asked.

&n
bsp; “I'm not her blood relation, but the Emperor proclaimed me a Prince of the Realm in gratitude for raising Ariel. Basically, he made both Karen and I members of his family, but not part of the royal line.

  “When Ariel and Bri'tell get married, he will still be a prince, even after she takes the throne,” Luke explained.

  “That could get seriously confusing, and problematic. What if Ariel and her husband don't produce children? What happens then?” General McCallister looked apologetically at Ariel. “I do hope you have plenty of healthy, happy children, Milady.”

  “The odds of that happening are very slim General. You see, in the Empire we have very advanced health care. The average life expectancy for a human is roughly nine-hundred and fifty of our years, although it's not unheard of for a human to live well into their second millennium,” Ariel explained. “Likewise, fertility issues are not as forbidding as they once were. There are some problems that arise when separate subspecies of human or another race attempt to breed. But for the most part, those of the same species have very few problems that can't be corrected easily.”

  “Okay, that begs the question; how many different types of humans are there, and are there more alien races in the Empire?” McCallister said.

  Ariel smiled at his slightly green look. “General, there are hundreds of mutations among humans, not all of them qualify as subspecies, but we are one of the most adaptable races, as well as the primary race in the Empire. But yes, there are other races in the Empire. Most of them are simply member nations that prefer to stay to themselves and only look to the Empire for trade and sometimes protection or arbitration.

  “I might have the opportunity to introduce you to one of our more important ally nations, the Ophuchi. They are not human, but look very much like us. My grandfather, the Emperor, has taken their Queen as a wife, even though our two races are not genetically compatible. Granted it was a political move, but as much as is possible, they do love each other,” Ariel said. “They are a very beautiful people.”