by Bruce Marcom
They both say, “Thank you, Your Highness.” They both leave the chamber.
Bailiff says, “Next is the Ambassador from the Hive Empire.”
A six foot tall Bee comes in displaying his yellow and black stripes. He kneels in front of the throne.
“Your Majesty, I have a reply in regards to your request for the Hive to release the eight planets on our border to the Dragon Empire. The Bee and Spider Queens respectfully decline your request. Those have been occupied for fifty years by the Hive, and we do not believe that they are or were part of any Dragon Empire before that.”
“I figured as much, but I am not going to war over it. I will just have to come up with a compromise that is beneficial to both parties. Thank you for your service ambassador. Is the new consulate to your liking?”
“Yes it is, Your Majesty. Thank you.” He leaves the chamber.
The royal page comes in and says, “Your Majesty, there is a message incoming on the deep space Vid-Com from Faerie World.”
“Lower the Vid screen.” A big screen comes down with two large metal arms holding it. It stops about six feet from the ground, facing the Empress's throne. The screen actives and a blue dragon appears on the screen.
“Justice Kilfu, it is good to see you again. How is everything in the land of the little people?”
“Your Majesty. Nice to see you, too. I am missing Dragon World big time. My tour here is up in another year. These little tyrants are driving me insane. I know you told them they could govern themselves as long as they obey Dragon Law and paid taxes, but they are constantly arguing and fighting amongst themselves. Faeries and the sprites, or the leprechauns and dryads, Faerie Dragons and mermaids, you name it. They are driving me nuts. You are going to have to pick a governing queen that they will obey, or something. This constant fighting needs to stop.”
“I feel your pain. I have had to deal with them before. I guess I have been putting it off too long. Very well. I am coming to Faerie World and settling this crap, once and for all. I will be leaving today, so should be there in a few days. On another topic, how is the orbiting city station coming along? Are they finished yet?”
“Yeah, it will open in a few days. I guess you should be there for the opening ceremony anyway. It is a grand city in space.”
“Sounds great. I will knock out two things with one trip. See you there,” Eve says. Vid ends and the screen retracts into the ceiling.
“Damn Faerie folks! Never thought I would have so much trouble from those little brats.” Eve signals to her attendant, Pura from her old merchant crew. “Pack for a week's stay. We are leaving today. Signal my ship and escort to get ready to leave for Faerie World in two hours,” Eve commands.
Pura says, “Understood.” Pura leaves to attend to all the details involved with the trip.
The page announces, “General Scales is here to see you, Your Highness.”
“Send him in.”
General Scales, the giant gold dragon, comes in the chamber and kneels.
“Rise, my good friend. How was your trip to the Reptilian Military Academy?”
“It was productive. I learned some interesting concepts from Scuttlebutt.”
“He is old school, but a very good commander,” Eve assures.
“I would like to make a special small tactical unit to add to our army for special missions, but I can't think of a commander that would be suitable for such a unit,” Scales ponders.
“Well, I can think of one person that would be perfect for the job. But you would have to have an open mind and think out of the box before I recommend her to you,” Eve says with a bit of intrigue.
“Sounds interesting. I like out-of-the-box thinking. I usually get my best ideas that way,” Scales says with self-assurance. “Who did you have in mind?”
“Her name is Tala, and she is a Pirate Lord.”
“A Pirate Lord?” Scales chuckles, “Yeah that is out of the box for sure. I can see her having small unit expertise, but I can't see a pirate wanting to be in a military of any kind.”
“Well, I didn't say it would be easy,” Eve says, playing with her long fingernails. “But I know what she likes, and we do have the largest and most advanced military in this region of space. Not to mention, we are one of the richest empires.”
“It's not me you need to convince. I get it. If you know how to push her buttons, then get me that commander,” Scales says.
“I will work on it. I will go to Laughing Skull and chat with her after I am done with my Faerie World trip,” Eve informs.
“Faerie World? Are the munchkins squabbling again?”
“Unfortunately for me,” Eve says in dismay.
“I am glad I am not you. I would rather repel an invasion where I am outnumbered ten to one than get in the middle of those little vermin spats,” Scales says with a tad of sarcasm.
“No kidding.” Eve laughs.
Pura returns two hours later and informs Eve her ship is ready to depart on her journey.
Chapter 5
On the planet of Voth in Pirate Lord Territory, a ship docks in the space port. Voth is owned by the Pirate Lord Gymmie Voth. Voth is a ruthless pirate and he rules gang of thugs that are just as mean as he is. The planet has a defense system that could repel a couple of battleships if it had to. Voth owns three or four battle cruisers and about 300 fighters. He gets in more fights than any of the other Lords do. If captured by him, expect a slow, painful, and excruciating death.
Two pirates drag Tala into a room located inside of the main pirate fortress on the planet. They toss her down on the ground in front of Lord Voth. She is tied up and beaten pretty badly.
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” Lord Voth says as he kicks her in the stomach. “I am lucky one of your crew could be bought, or I would never have caught you.”
Fedgi says, “Yeah, about that. When am I getting paid? I brought her to you, and now it’s pay time.”
Lord Voth pulls out his blaster and shoots Fedgi in the chest. “There is your payment. What a dumbass. As if I would take a traitor into my gang.” Fedgi falls to the ground with a big hole in his chest.
“Get that piece of trash out of here,” Voth yells, and then points to Tala. “And sit her up in the chair.”
Tala says, “You’re lucky I am tied up Voth, or I would beat your ass.”
“Oh so, you’re appealing to my sense of honor.” Voth laughs and his men join him. He punches her in the stomach. Tala spits up blood.
“It’s going to be a long night for you, Lord Bitchiness. Get me my tools...” Voth says with a sense of urgency.
***
Back on Faerie World, Eve has just finished her walk through of the city station that orbits the planet; she found it extremely impressive. The planet's main product is Faerie dust. It is used for a number of things, but mostly because it makes any material it is applied to 50% stronger. The government is the main buyer; it uses the dust in their building materials. This makes structures and military gear much stronger. The dust can only be harvested from plants on Faerie World, which means that the environment cannot be disturbed. The Empress outlawed the building of any cities on the planet. This is why a space city above the planet was created. People can still go down a visit the small towns made from material in the environment, though.
Eve has just arrived at the palace down on the planet that was created for her by the Faerie folk. The palace is flooded with all kinds of sprites, pixies, fairies, leprechauns, dryads, druids, mermaids, and many more. They had come to see the Empress, as she did not stop by often. The Justice is sitting in the corner a few feet away from the throne. The throne was actually a tree stump that had been carved into a throne chair. Eve comes in and walks gracefully; the spectators are all dazzled by her beauty. She allows the children to follow her and land on her large wings and shoulders. They are so tiny she has to be carefully not to squash them by mistake. When she sits down, the small pixie children climb up on her chair and sit in her lap. She s
miles at them.
The Justice tries to quiet the crowd. “Order, Order. Calm down. Empress Evella Noctu will now have the floor.”
Eve begins to speak, “I am sorry I haven’t had time to come visit more often, I will try to make more trips here during the year. I miss you all and hope you have been doing okay.” She blows gently on a small sprite child in her hand; the sprite flutters her rainbow wings and giggles. By now, she is covered in Faerie children. “However, I am here to pick a governor to help me govern Faerie World to make sure peace is maintained and to make sure it prospers. I tried to leave it to your Queens, but that isn't working. I have summoned all of the Queens here in order to pick one that will represent Faerie World's best interest. Now that the new city station is completed, Faerie World will probably become the best place for tourists to visit. This will put your world on a grand scale and increase your local economy. You can bring new services and products to the citizens here.”
Ten queens enter the area. The palace is outdoors, filled with all types of garden flora and trees. Birds and other natural animals and insects are also there wandering about. The Queens line up in a row in front of the Empress. They take turns bowing and curtsying to the Empress. Eve gets up and walks down the line of tiny queens, reading each of their minds. They all seemed to be more interested in what they want instead of what’s best for Faerie World.
Eve sits back down in the throne. She notices one of the queens is missing.
“Where is Queen Yutsla?” she asks the Justice.
“Oh, the Seahorse Queen. Unfortunately, she passed away yesterday from old age. Her daughter Princess Urtua has been preparing to take her place for several years now . The official ceremony will take place in a few days.”
“That is a shame. I liked Queen Yutsla a lot. Please bring me Princess Urtua at once,” Eve commands.
Some of the flying seahorses leave as they go to fetch Princess Urtua. Eve stands up and says, “Court will reconvene in two hours. I will have my decision then. Clear the palace for now. I need time to think. Justice, remain here for a few minutes.”
The palace empties of all but Eve and the Justice.
“Justice, tell me about the princess and what you think about her,” Eve asks.
“Well, she is very much like her mother, which is good. But she does not have much confidence in herself. She has the training and the diplomatic skills, and very much wants to serve her people. She is a much better choice than those other bloodsuckers. She has not been tainted yet.”
“Do you think she could become tainted? Power does strange things to some people.”
“I doubt it. She has been ruling for the last two years, ever since her mother became bedridden, and I haven't seen her change any, except for learning from her mistakes. But every ruler has to do that.”
“Yes, that is true. It sounds like she just needs her confidence boosted some. I think she will be all right with a little guidance. I think I will pick her to be the Queen Governor.”
“Oh dear, the other queens are not going to like that. Picking a brand new queen over them. I am glad I am not the one making that decision,” the Justice says with relief.
“Yeah, well I will just have to remind them who the boss is,” Eve says with a wry smile and wink at the Justice.
“Yeppers. I am going to rest for an hour or so. Be back for your announcement. Maybe I should wear armor, hehe.” The Justice laughs.
“Ha ha, yeah. See you then.”
“Sure thing.”
Thirty minutes later, Eve is standing behind the throne looking out into the wonderful garden. Suddenly, some seahorses fly into the room. Eve turns around and see a beautiful blue and pink seahorse with glossy clear wings land on the throne. She is about four inches tall with a very thin body. She also has two arms and two legs. She perches her feet on the back of the top part of the throne so that she is face to face with Eve.
“You have grown some since I last saw you, and so beautiful at that. I am very sorry about your mother passing away. She was a good queen and friend,” Eve says softly.
Urtua says in a tiny, high-pitched voice, “I miss her already. I feel so alone now. I mean, I have my people, but it still feels like I am all alone now.”
“Leadership is often a lonely path, but that does not mean you have to be lonely. You are young; you just need to be careful who you trust. Trust is something that must be built up over time. Anything good will take time to do. I have the utmost confidence in your abilities. You will make an excellent Queen. You just need to have faith in yourself. “
“But I am always worried I will make a mistake, that my people will suffer,” Urtua says in a sad manner.
“Everyone makes mistakes, but then you learn from them and move on. Even I make mistakes. I also worry about making a bad call, but that is just part of ruling. The important thing is to keep your citizens in mind on every decision you make. Your job is to serve your people, not the other way around. Do not ever forget that.”
Urtua says softly, “You are so wise. You remind me of my mother.” She smiles.
Eve smiles back and says, “I have decided to pick YOU as the Governor Queen of Faerie World.”
“ME?” she squeaks with such a high pitch that it is almost ear shattering, “But I am not even a Queen yet! The other Queens will not like me being chosen, since I am a new Queen and young at that.”
“You just need to make them understand you're the boss. Don't let them bully you around. Anytime you need to chat, you can use the Deep Vid-Com over here and call me. I am leaving you some of my personal guards, too.”
“You think they will try and kill me?” Urtua says with a worried look.
“Nope. I will make sure of that.”
“Um… okay.”
Eve's personal Com badge activates. She presses it and says, “Go ahead.”
“There is a long range encrypted message incoming from Dark World. It is from Spymaster Keridor and marked urgent,” Helma says from Eve's ship.
“Relay it down here on this Vid-Com. Excuse me, princess,” Eve says to Urtua.
“I will wait outside then.” Urtua flutters off to the outside courtyard.
Vid-Com activates and a bony black dragon’s head appears on the screen.
“Greetings from Dark World, Your Highness,” Keridor says.
“Hi, Keridor. Report.”
“My lady, I just got a spy report back. The Undead have launched a full-scale invasion on the Hive. They have taken eight planets belonging to the Hive on the other side of the neutral zone. The Hive declared war on the Undead. They launched a counterattack that ended in failure a few hours ago. Millions of civilians and military are dead,” Keridor says.
“Thank you for the report. Please patch me through to General Scales,” Eve says.
The Vid-Com changes screens and a gold-headed dragon appears.
“General, did you get the spymaster’s brief?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I have double the patrol on that side of our border and the Dragon Defense Force has doubled as well. Dragon Intelligence has sent double the agents out to watch and listen on the Undead and Hive borders. “
“Very good. Keep me informed.”
“Will do. Out.” The Vid screen deactivates.
Eve presses her Com badge. “Nelma, put the ship on Condition Yellow and launch all fighters. I want the fighters to patrol the area of space around this planet. Also, notify the space city and tell them Condition Yellow. Make sure they know to active the defense grid and launch their fighters for double patrols.”
“Roger that.”
Eve sits down at the throne in the empty palace, thinking about a great many things. After an hour passes, the palace is filled up again with even more people than before. Everyone is wondering who Eve has picked to be the Governing Queen. This time the line of queens has eleven queens instead of just ten. Eve gets up from her throne, walks over to the line, and begins an incantation. She walks down the line, touching e
ach queen's forehead and causing a symbol to appear for a brief moment and then disappear. Eve backs away from the line and stands in front the throne facing the line of queens.
“I have made my decision. I have decided to select Urtua as the Governor Queen.”
The Queens all start to argue, but suddenly fall on the ground screening in pain as the symbols on their foreheads glow. Urtua is unaffected.
“That pain you are feeling is from a very powerful dragon symbol of obedience. If any of you disobey Urtua or attempt argue with her, that symbol will activate anywhere in the galaxy. It can only be removed by me. Urtua has a symbol of command. If she dies from anything other than natural causes, then the symbols on your foreheads will slay you all instantly. So, it would be in your best interest to obey her and keep her alive. Is there any part of that you don't understand?”
Silence overtakes the area.
“Very well. Get up, and go bow and curtsy to your new Governor Queen. Then we can get this party started in celebration. I have food, drinks, music, and dancing coming down here for the festival that starts now.” She smiles as crowd roars with cheer.
Servants with food and drink enter the palace, along with the other servants providing different types of entertainment. The Faerie folks bring their own music and food stuffs. The merriment overtakes any unhappiness that existed before. The whole area turns into a grand party; after all, parties are what Faerie folks do the best. The Queens get over being angry and become more interested in getting drunk and dancing. It was a wild night, and it carries on till the next morning.
Eve says goodbye to everyone, giving a hug and a kiss to each queen and promising to come back in a few months for another party. She gets in her shuttle craft and travels back to her ship. She arrives in the shuttle bay and goes out to the bridge. Upon sitting in her captain's chair she says, “Report.”
42 says, “We are just about finished docking all the fighters. All systems and departments are reporting in okay. We also transmitted the messages you instructed to Wolfkin and Reptilian space.” The android continues monitoring fifteen different screens. The bridge command staff consists of about fifty people, all viewing as many consoles on this huge bridge.
“Set course for Laughing Skull. We will be meeting up with an escort at the Dragon-Wolfkin border.”
