Royce Read online

  "Computer, when did she leave and on what ship?"

  "Gloria Aymar left forty minutes ago aboard the Searcher."

  "Dammit to hell," Ciara yelled while picking up John's coffee cup and throwing it into an unoccupied corner of the room. The cup hit the wall and slid to the floor unbroken.

  "Unbreakable," John said with a very small smile. When he saw the look on Ciara's face, he turned back to his console.

  "What's wrong?" the king asked as he and the queen hurried over.

  "Your headstrong daughter has stowed-away on the Searcher."

  "By all that's holy, you have to call them back!" the queen said in a panic.

  "Can't. The window of opportunity is too narrow," John replied as he started receiving telemetry from the hawkbots. "If we bring them back now, we might not get another chance to retrieve your son. All we can do is let them do their job and hope Gloria doesn't get into any trouble."

  "You've met my daughter, haven't you?" the king asked. John looked at the king and smiled when he noticed the chancellor talking into a device on his wrist. John looked at Ciara and saw her watching the chancellor as well, her brow furrowed. She waited for him to finish before bending down and saying, "Security Alert One," into John's ear before standing up and rejoining the king and his people. John flipped a button and spoke into his mic while tapping the table in a seemingly random manner. Then he saw five of the king's honor guard walk in and take up position near the two doors that led into the room from the hallway. He looked at Ciara and nodded toward the honor guard. She grimaced and nodded once to John.

  "Jenny, could you take over for a minute? I need to take a pill," he said to one of the techs.

  "Sure boss," she replied as he vacated his seat. She sat down, and he bent over to retrieve something. Unseen by anyone in the room, he whispered something in her ear before walking past the honor guard and out into the hallway. Members of the elite Cube Protective Forces were waiting for him outside.

  "Sir!" the leader said while she snapped to attention.

  "Gracie, we have a hostage situation in Mission Control. Five elves plus the chancellor. What is the status of the remaining five members of the elf honor guard?"

  "Relaxing in the Guest Quarters, watching a holiday vid."

  "They don't even know. Seal the control room. Anyone who comes out stays out. Apprise the flight director of the situation via blinky-comm. Both Tech Jennifer Thatch and Director Devlin have been apprised of the situation."

  "Aye, sir. What are you going to do?"

  "I'm going to go talk to a bunch of happy elves and probably ruin their whole day," he said as Gracie handed him a secure comm. "Call the Aerie and have Lyscka meet me at the Guest Quarters on the double."

  "Aye, aye, sir."

  ###

  The five remaining members of the king's honor guard sat mesmerized by the antics of the big elf on the view screen. The vid was about a human child who had been adopted by some guy named St. Nick and brought up by elves. "You're killing me," Rachel said as she grabbed a handful of shrimp from a bowl and ate the ones caught between her fingers. "Is this really what these Leaguers think elves look like?"

  Howls of laughter broke out when the protagonist did something insane. The laughter stopped when the view changed to mission control. The viewer showed five elf honor guards and the chancellor standing behind everyone else, the elves’ weapons held at casual ready.

  "What the hell is Tarlock doing?" Rachel asked as she dropped the shrimp into an empty bowl.

  "Shit, their weapons' safeties are off," a tall elf by the name of Trent said in disbelief.

  "Rachel, we need to get down there, something ain't right," Angela said as she searched for her uniform.

  "Sampson, call the ship. Sontar, call Station Security..." Rachel was cut-off by a voice coming from the doorway.

  "No need to call Security, they already know," John said as he walked in. "By the way, you all passed the audition, and we really need your help. My name is John Taggart, and we think those six elves are planning a coup against the king. I promise you that will not happen."

  All five elves pulled their swords and handed them to John handle first. "On our honor, we knew nothing about this."

  "I know. Your actions told me this the moment the vid changed, which is why we need your help. Is there a chance there are more of these traitors aboard your ship?"

  Rachel looked at the others. "Yes," she said.

  "Then we have a problem. There are four cloaked League attack cruisers sitting around your ship with weapons hot. If I or my subordinates give the command, those cruisers will open fire. You may have advanced technology, but one hundred-pound slugs of aluminum, traveling at hypersonic speed, don't really care how advanced a hull is as they pass through it. The use of brute force does have its advantages."

  "What can we do?" Rachel asked.

  "Anybody on board you can trust?"

  "Yes, absolutely. I vouch for them with my life."

  "Good. You take care of the ship while we take care of Mission Control," He motioned out the door, and several techs walked in. "Tell them what you need. Let me know when you're ready."

  He walked out to find Lyscka waiting for him. "I've been briefed. What's the op?"

  "I need your four best telepresence unit drivers. Our friends in mission control don't know the back wall drops out of the way to bring in equipment. The opening is big enough for a mark three mauler to fit through."

  "Will it come to that?"

  "I hope not, but I want them on standby just in case. Warn your guys the maulers will be fully armed and authorized to shoot to kill."

  "Copy that. Any word on Royce?"

  "No.”

  "It never rains but it pours."

  "Damn skippy. I'm heading to Mission Control Room Eight to monitor the mission and the situation." John said as he turned to leave

  "Roger that. My people and I will join you there shortly," she said as she headed off in the opposite direction.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The shuttle sat silent as its crew and passengers headed to the building. Nearby, Dreya, the lorse, grazed on the succulent lawn.

  The silence inside the shuttle's cabin was broken by a creak as the lid of the green crate lifted up an inch and stopped as the crate's occupant looked around the cabin. Seeing no one about, the lid swung back out of the way as Gloria stood up and stretched. She jumped out and quietly landed on the deck in a three-point stance. "I always wanted to do that," she said to herself as she got up and searched for a weapon and a scanpad. She found the latter in a rack, but came up empty-handed with the former. She performed a quick scan and found an energy-dampening field in place. That must be where Royce is, she thought as she ran out onto the lawn, almost tripping over the saddle Royce had left. She grabbed the bow, before heading into the building, hoping she wasn't too late.

  ###

  When the rescue team entered the building, the first thing they saw was the Assassin's body lying on the ground and the chancellor standing nearby. "Over here," Doc yelled while she ran to Royce's prone body. Around them, the lights in the walls blinked and moved, as if alive, while the red crystal shone from its place on top of the pylon.

  While the others gathered around Royce, the two elf guards hung back and watched as they quietly checked their weapons. "Energy dampening field. What now, boss?" Eldar asked.

  "Have I taught you nothing?" Ariel said as she pulled a pair of semi-automatic slug-thrower pistols from her pocket. She handed one to Eldar before retrieving a few spare clips which she split between the two of them. She smiled and fired into the ceiling. "Please step away from the prince."

  No one complied. Instead, they placed their bodies between Royce and the two elves. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Doc asked as she stood up.

  "Why do you want to go and do that?" Ariel said as she aimed her weapon at Doc's heart. "Don't you get it? He's dead. His bitch sister is dead, the king is dead. The hell wi
th it, you're all dead..." She stopped when she heard a meaty thunk next to her as Eldar fell to the ground with an arrow through his hearts. She spun around, but it was too late as another arrow found its mark in her chest, killing her instantly.

  Shocked, the others looked up and saw Gloria standing there, bow in hand, backlit by the light streaming through the doorway. She looked like an illustration from some fantasy novel. "Who are you calling a bitch, bitch?" She said as she dropped the bow and quiver and ran to her brother. "Royce! Please be okay," she begged.

  "Mistress Gloria, your brother is badly hurt," Parker said before launching into a litany of injuries.

  "Gloria, sweetie, let us help him," Doc said as she and the other medics knelt next to him and worked to save his life.

  Gloria stood and looked around as the others attended to Royce. First, she circled the chancellor synth before walking over to the assassin's body. She pulled away the black hood. It was Ariel. "What the hell is going on around here?" she asked out loud.

  "Gloria, he's stabilized, but I don't know for how long," Doc said while the others gently put Royce on a litter and picked him up. "We need to leave, now!" Around them, the lights started flashing more insistently, as if telling the intruders it was time to go.

  "Let's get out of here," she said as she retrieved the sword, knife, and bow.

  "What about those two?" Doc asked as she pointed at the two guards.

  "Leave them. I will not allow them to soil the Searcher."

  The group ran out and headed to the shuttle. As she passed the saddle, she placed the weapons on it while thanking whoever had given them to Royce. Once inside, the shuttle took off, and they headed back to the Cube at best possible speed.

  Gloria sat next to the litter, out of the way of the medical staff as they monitored Royce's vital signs. On the screen next to where he lay, she watched Parker's replay of the events which led up to him lying there on the floor nearly dead. She watched him battle the Anna synth, the Gloria synth, and the assassin. Each scene made her angrier. She looked down and saw him slowly awaken, despite his wounds.

  ###

  "Hey, where did you come from?" I said to Gloria as I regained consciousness. I could tell she still found it odd when I was in human form.

  "Oh, I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by. How do you feel?"

  "Better. May I assume going elf is still out of the question?" I had to ask.

  "Sir, there are still traces of toxin in your bloodstream," Parker replied. I could see Parker's readouts on the screen next to the bed.

  "You just rest, while we take care of things," Gloria said as she chewed her nail tips. She winced when she saw the readings. "What happened in there?"

  I explained about the Queen and the quest. "I think the virus was using memories against me to either drive me insane or kill me. It couldn't allow me to place the crystal on the pylon." I told her about the Anna synth and the Gloria synth I had encountered and how the Gloria synth almost killed me. "Didn't I once say you would be the death of me?" That got a giggle from her. God this must be rough on all of them.

  "What about the two things in the Pylon Room?"

  "I'm pretty sure the virus missed me and hit the assassin personality embedded in my mind. The hooded creature was the physical embodiment of the Assassin. It was convinced you and Father were dead, while Mother had died during childbirth, so all it needed was to kill me. I asked it who was responsible for its creation. That's when the chancellor synth appeared.”

  "Did you ever see who the assassin was?"

  "Nope. I had just enough life left in me to grab the crystal and put it on the pylon before I passed out. Why?"

  "I pulled its hood off while the others were working on you. It was Ariel."

  "My God, she was in on it? I knew they had to have a basis pattern for the Assassin, but I never thought it was one of Father's guards. What about the other members of the Honor Guard? Or the crew of his flagship?" I looked at her and knew she was holding something back. "What is it?" I asked as Doc sat down next to me and listened to my heart with a stethoscope.

  "Eldar was in on it as well. He and Ariel accompanied us on this trip, but they turned on us," Gloria explained.

  "Where are they? I'll rip their hearts out," I growled weakly as the room swam around me.

  "Gloria beat you to it," Doc said. "She took them both out with a bow and arrow. You should have seen her standing there. I expected to see a dragon walk in and nuzzle her."

  "You should have seen Doc and the others stand between you and those two brigands. I'm going to tell Ciara all about it."

  "I have you all to thank for saving my life, so thank you..." I said as the fatigue hit me. The last thing I remember was Gloria brushing the hair out of my eyes.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Chancellor Lhoris walked up to stand next to Ciara and watch the drama unfold. As was usual, he said nothing. He just watched.

  "Chancellor, can you actually talk?" Ciara asked. "I don't think I have heard you utter a word since your arrival. Cat got your tongue? I don't bite, really."

  "I speak when I find it necessary," he said.

  "Our chancellor is an elf of few words," the King said as he paced.

  "I see," Ciara said. "Tell me, Chancellor, do you feel threatened by our little group of technicians? They don't bite, either. Not even the Katalan on sensors," she said, nodding toward the powerful looking felinoid across the room, "though I heard she purrs under the right circumstances."

  "No, why would you ask such a question?" he asked, noticing the King looking at him as well.

  "Well, an hour ago you called those five imposing and fully armed guards of yours into the control room and placed them between my personnel and the exits, a violation of the Cube’s Fire Safety Code."

  "Lhoris, what is the meaning of this?" the King bellowed as the Cube personnel pulled out weapons and aimed them at the guards while pulling the King and Queen behind them. The Katalan, Respa, stood up and acted as a living shield for the Queen.

  This left Ciara standing unprotected next to Lhoris. Seeing this, the chancellor grabbed her and pulled her next to him while holding a pistol to her head. The honor guards waved their weapons back and forth, not knowing what to do.

  "Fools, I will kill you all unless you relinquish the royal couple to me."

  "No. Not going to happen," Ciara said calmly.

  "Do as I say or you'll be the first to die," he said as he poked her in the ribs.

  "No."

  "I will have my guards shoot everyone..." He stopped when the back wall dropped into the floor to reveal four large humanoid forms with horns and prehensile tales. The forms stepped into the room and stopped while low-powered lasers from the tails and horn tips painted spots on the five guards.

  "Those are called maulers. They're state-of-the-art, remote-controlled, robotic forms designed for extreme combat situations." She nodded and their hands folded back to reveal multi-barrel miniguns, which spun up as they prepared for a firefight. Behind them were a dozen heavily armed members of the Cube Security Force, each wearing state-of-the-art battle armor. "Right now, your people are being painted with milliwatt aiming lasers which can be switched over to five-watt multispectral-mode capable of cutting your people into little, tiny smoldering chunks. By the way, the mauler drivers know what you did to Royce, and they're all very good friends of his, if you catch my drift.”

  "This is Mission Control Eight. Searcher is inbound. They have Royce and Gloria. They report two dead: Ariel and Eldar. Something about going up against an elf wielding a bow and arrow."

  Ciara could feel the shock ripple through Lhoris's body. He lifted his communicator and yelled into it, "This is Chancellor Lhoris. Destroy that shuttle."

  The Queen screamed, thinking her two children were about to die. The King growled, "I will hunt you down, Lhoris, and have your heart for a snack."

  The main viewer came on showing the Searcher passing by the king's flagsh
ip. Lhoris's smile of glee turned to a frown as the shuttle calmly traveled past the huge warship. "This is Chancellor Lhoris. Destroy that shuttle!"

  An image of the flagship’s control room replaced the one of the flagship. Standing there was an elf wearing a Commander's uniform. "Ultar, I order you to destroy that ship!" Lhoris screamed.

  Instead of saying something, a stream of blood came from Ultar's mouth as he fell from view. Behind him, stood Rachel, in her hand a bloody knife. She leaned toward the camera and screamed, "Your lackey can't hear you, Chancellor. Pray they kill you before I return. Sire, your flagship is secure and the mutineers taken into custody!" She wiped her blade on something off-camera before returning it to its sheath. The view screen went black.

  "Hmmm. That's not good," Ciara said as she glanced at the four maulers. The smell of burnt cloth filled the room as one of the maulers cut a piece of fabric from one of the guard's uniforms with its main laser. Without a word from their leader, the honor guard immediately surrendered to the security forces, leaving Lhoris to fend for himself.

  "I swear I will kill her," the elf said as he poked Ciara in the ribs once more. "I want a shuttle and..." He stopped and went slack-jawed as he found himself staring into a pair of black eyes. He dropped his weapon and grabbed his head while stepping back, away from Ciara. He screamed once before falling to the floor in a quivering heap. Several members of the security team rushed over, but Ciara held up her hand as she knelt next to him, stopping them in their tracks. "You foolish elf. This is the most secure installation in League space. We practice for these contingencies all the time." She took his face in her hands and looked deeply into his fear-filled eyes. "Pray to your gods we never meet again, for if we do, I will rip your soul out. Understand?"

  He screamed once more before falling unconscious to the floor. "Take him and his people to the brig to await the King's pleasure," she said as she stood up and straightened her jacket. "Respa, could you take the King and Queen to see their son in Sickbay?"

  "Yes, ma'am," Respa replied as the Katalan walked by and put a reassuring hand on Ciara's shoulder. "This way, Your Highnesses," Respa said as she led them out the door. John rushed in a moment later and ran over to Ciara. "You okay?"