Royce Read online

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Challenge him. Only the King can rescind this order which means either he does, or I become King and do it myself."

  "Royce, have you gone completely mad? You can't challenge him to a duel! Even on your best day, he could beat your ass. Now, you're talking about a duel to the death for the throne!"

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm thrilled that my favorite twin sister thinks so highly of me." Okay, so her synth did almost kill me.

  "Royce, this is your mother. Come back, please."

  "Sorry, Mother, but I have to save Father from spending the rest of his life regretting a single, really dumb decision." I thought about Anna and the team, and a decision I'm still regretting even now. "Dir. Devlin?"

  "Yes, Royce,"

  "I'm doing everything I can to keep this an elf matter and keep the League out of it. I realize I've gone off-book again, but it seems I'm the only one with a hope of pulling the biscuits out of the fire."

  "No worry. We'll talk when you get back. Good luck."

  As I killed the connection, I thought about my quest. I thought it was finished but it isn't, not until I remove Father from this path he has taken. I looked and saw the edge of the rift pass by the side of my plane. I was committed.

  ###

  "Good luck, Royce," Ciara said as she stared at the queen. "Please, explain, Your Highness."

  "It must be that damn book the king inherited when he became King. I've only seen it once. I swear I know nothing about it. Regardless, we have to stop Royce."

  Ciara abruptly turned to stare at the screen. "I'm sorry. This is an elf matter, not a League matter. I cannot draw this installation, or the League, into a civil war."

  "What the hell are you talking about? Royce works for this installation. He's a League citizen..." the queen exclaimed.

  "No, he's not. There is no trace of your son prior to Tennosh. He suddenly appears on the roster of the Arachnid, but nothing before that. Don't you get it? He has done everything possible to keep us out of it."

  "But he'll die. He can barely walk, let alone go up against my father in personal combat," Gloria said.

  "I will contact the Council and explain the situation, but I don't see them intervening in this matter. Until it spills over into the League, my hands are tied.

  Ciara walked out of the control room on her way to her office to contact the Council, while the others could only watch and wait.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The ride through the rift was much more pleasant compared to the first time through. When I made orbit, I saw the Aegnor hanging in a low orbit over the planet. I didn't want to be fired upon, so I programmed the IFF transponder with my royal ID. "Cube Patrol Craft C57D, this is the Gweyr Royal Flagship Aegnor. We have you on scope. Welcome back, Your Majesty. What is you mission plan?"

  "I need to talk to my father," I said.

  "Very good, C57D. We're transmitting vectors. Have a good day."

  "Thank you, Aegnor. Fair winds and calm seas. C57D out."

  I headed in on the vector the Aegnor gave me. As I came in, I could see elf cities rising from underground storage pits around the Castle. I hope to all the kind gods this wasn't for naught.

  "Parker, you still with me?" I called over the SAC circuit.

  "Of course, sir," she said.

  "Where are you, by the way? Did you get left in the Central Building?"

  "Sir?"

  "Your stylus. Where did I leave it?"

  "Your father has my Stylus, sir. I am no longer using it?"

  Okay, this is getting interesting. "What are you using as a storage medium?" Gods, I hope she isn't trapped in someone’s calculator, or worse, a music player.

  "Sir, I have a body," she said.

  Okay, this is different. "What kind of body?"

  "A synth, sir. The Ralanorans need a healer, so I volunteered. I thought I should have a body, so I programmed the revival system to build me a synth. I think it fits rather nicely, if I do say so myself," she said. I think I can hear her smiling.

  "I can't wait to see it. How much time until Father pulls the trigger on this show?"

  "He is arguing with Queen Aiella right now. Sir, please try to not let yourself be killed."

  "That's the plan, Parker. I can see the castle. Hang in there. Royce out." Parker with a body. I wonder if she looks like Parker Prime.

  As I got closer, I could see several patrol craft flying over the castle. "Cube Patrol Craft C57D, this is Flight Control. State your business."

  Time to pull some rank on these Marines. "Flight Control, this is Prince Royce Aymar, Heir Apparent to the Throne. Who am I speaking with?"

  "Col. Tigre, sir!"

  "Col. Tigre, I'm here to see my Father—The KING—on official business, if that's all right with you."

  "Yes, sir! You are clear to land on the front lawn. Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?"

  "Not right now, Colonel. Just make sure no one plays with my ship. It's a rental. Royce out."

  I landed in the middle of an occupation, with at least twenty battle shuttles ringing the building in addition to the ones I flew through. As I disembarked my frame, I found myself surrounded by twenty or so heavily armed Marines. A lieutenant strode up and immediately got into my face. "Identify yourself! This is a restricted..." She stopped when I went elf. I love it when an armored Marine comes face to face with the boss's son and feels the need to melt. "Forgive me, My Prince. I didn't recognize..."

  "Take me to my father," I said.

  "But, sir, he has left explicit instructions not to be disturbed!"

  How did Lyscka do it? Oh, yeah, now I remember. I put my face less than an inch away from hers and repeated, slowly, "Take. Me. To. My. Father." She got the hint.

  "Yes, sir. This way, sir," she said as she led me to the castle. Once inside I saw a lot more Marines. The place was swarming with elves dressed in battle armor and carrying really big guns. I looked at the lieutenant's tail—different connotation with elves—and saw it was tipped with a small multipurpose tool kit. I needed to get one of those. The fatigue must be getting to me if I'm shopping for gadgets at a time like this.

  The lieutenant stopped in front of another set of massive wood doors, this time they had ornate carvings on them. She knocked. The door opened and one of the king’s honor guard came out and conferred with the lieutenant before sending her off and walking up to me.

  "Hello, Rachel," I said.

  "Royce! What the hell are you doing here? Weren't you in a coma?" she asked as she removed her helmet.

  "Yeah, but I heard Father is on a tear, so I came down to put in my two credits worth."

  "Negative. No one goes in, and no one comes out, without his permission."

  "Rache, I'm going in. You can use any weapon you want to try to stop me, but I suggest you set them on low. Considering the shape I'm in, you might stop my hearts," I said while I grabbed the door and walked in.

  "Queen Aiella, you know as well as I do the history between the two realms..." Father was saying as I walked in with Rachel running after me.

  "Hello, Father, Queen Aiella."

  "Royce!" Father exclaimed.

  "Sir, I tried to stop him..." Rachel stammered.

  "But I stunned her with my charm and wit," I said.

  "Right. You know I don't roll that way."

  "A loss for every male elf in the realm," I said with a bow.

  "Leave us, all of you. I'll deal with this," the king said with a wave of his hand. "I thought you were in a coma."

  "I was, but I heard you were having issues which I might be some help with," I replied.

  "There are no issues. This is a matter of realm security."

  "Right. Less than a million Ralanor elves versus over fifty billion Gweyrans. I feel so safe knowing such a threat is contained." I looked up and saw a hawkbot watching us from the top of a bookshelf. Glancing around I saw a ratbot hiding behind a planter. I smiled at it and its eyes bl
inked green.

  "Don't be flippant with me, boy."

  I slowly turned to look him in the eyes. He was scared. What the hell? "What are you afraid of, my King?"

  "I fear nothing." he said as his fingers tensed. That's when I saw the book laying open on the table. The Book of Precepts. I walked over and picked it up before he could stop me. I read the section he had marked. It was the history of the realms before the revolt—what I had been taught was a plague.

  I can see why he was afraid. The Ralanorans were vicious, sadistic, and barbaric in their treatment of the other realms. This read like the depictions of Caligula's reign on ancient Earth. I looked up at the queen and saw none of this. Like Father, she was just trying to do what was right for her people. "Father, why did Lhoris try to have you assassinated?" I asked as I handed the book back to him.

  "He thought I was leading the Realm to ruin. He felt he could do a better job running things."

  "When the assassin and I escaped from the facility on Norsa Six, I did everything in my power to stop it from getting to you. You know why I did what I did?"

  He remained silent so I continued. "Part of it was you are my father, but it's more than that. When I accepted the position of Prince, I swore an oath to keep Gweyr safe. I take that oath seriously. If I thought for a moment you were a danger to our people, I would do everything in my power to remove you from office, even if it meant one of us had to die. The safety of Gweyr is tantamount."

  "Aye, as I taught you, and as I myself was taught."

  "Before I began my Quest, I asked the queen if Ralanor was a danger to Gweyr. She swore there was no threat, and I believed her. I also believe our people can weather any storm thrown in their path. With all my heart, and soul, I believe her. In fact, I will stand with her no matter what your final decision is, for I released the genie from the bottle which makes Ralanor my responsibility. I swear to you, as Prince of the Realm of Gweyr, there is no threat here."

  I had run out of things to say, and frankly, I was exhausted. It would be an odd twist of fate it if I was to die today at the hands of the man who I was supposed to kill months ago. Royalty, it's not just a lifestyle, it's an adventure. I joined the Queen and that's when I noticed the elf standing next to her. She was striking. She was...Parker! Damn, she cleans up real good.

  My father walked up to the Queen and looked at her, looked deep, making sure. He reached down, pulled his sword from its sheath, and looked at it. I looked up at the hawkbot and saw its laser emitters activating. Now, Gloria was on a tear. I shook my head and shrugged. The bot powered down and went back into hiding. I swear, she really needed to cut back on the coffee.

  The king made a decision. He flipped the blade over and handed it to the Queen, pommel-first. "My queen, forgive me, but I had to be as sure as my son seems to be," he said as he knelt before her on one knee. Around him the guards and Marines followed the King’s lead as they went to one knee.

  Seeing my work was done, I took the easy route and opted to pass out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  I woke up to find a very attractive elf doctor checking my pulse. "Where am I?" I asked. Damn she was good looking. Smelled nice too.

  "You're in the infirmary aboard the Aegnor. I'm Dr. Losira. How do you feel?"

  "Beat up, but functional. How long have I been out?"

  "Six hours. You gave the King and Queen Aiella quite a fright when you hit the floor like that."

  "Yeah, sorry about that. It's been a long several days. In your professional opinion, how am I doing?"

  "You're mending, but you need to take it easy for a while. You've been through a lot, and your body is barely keeping up."

  "I'll be resting a great deal when I get back to work, I fear."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Let's see, I went AWOL and stole a ship to come here. I think my boss has had enough of me and is planning a long stay in the Brig for me."

  "You do worry, don't you? I would think the Queen of Ralanor would put in a good word for you seeing you saved her people from sleeping forever."

  "Maybe. Listen, this is the first time I've been aboard, and I'm starved. Where can I get something to eat and would you join me?"

  Losira looked at me with her tail making a question mark. "Dorna, I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off. Call me if you need anything," she said to someone in the adjoining room.

  "Sure, Doc. No problem," Dorna replied.

  "Follow me," Losira said while removing her lab coat and leading me out of the infirmary and into the corridor.

  As we walked through the ship, I noticed the stares I was getting. "What's with everyone? Is it my flight suit?" I asked Losira.

  "No, no one has ever seen someone return from the dead," she said.

  Oops. Forgot about that whole elf protection program thing Parker Prime had set up.

  We stopped at a door with Losira's name on a plate next to it. These were her quarters. Interesting.

  She led me inside and flipped on the lights before she realized she had left this morning without tidying up the place. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting company," she said as she picked up stray articles of clothing from various horizontal surfaces and threw them into what I assumed was the laundry closet.

  I saw a lot of books stacked willy-nilly, so I grabbed one—Fundamentals of Biocybernetic Design—and read through it. "One of your fields of study?" I asked as she ran past on her way to the bedroom to change.

  "What? Oh that. Yeah. I got hooked when I did a tour in a prosthetics ward."

  "My sister is into this." I flipped the book over and read the back. It had a League imprint and damned if it wasn't written by John Taggart. I laughed, ignoring the pain from broken ribs.

  "What's so funny?" she asked as she emerged from the bedroom wearing the elf equivalent of a little black dress.

  "Wow! I mean the author of this book, John Taggart."

  "Being aboard the Aegnor has its advantages. You've heard of John Taggart?"

  "Kind of. He's dating Princess Gloria. She works with him. By the way, the 'wow' was you in that dress. You're stunning."

  "What? This old thing?"

  About elves and love. We fall quick and hard, and I was doing both at this moment. Someone once told me it was a leftover response from the days when life was short. This woman was incredible. I began to sweat. This never happened with Anna or any of the other women I had physical relationships—okay, sex—with.

  "You okay?" she asked as she walked up and checked my pulse.

  I could feel my heart beating like a trip hammer. "I'm doing great. Where are we going for dinner?" I asked as I tried to change the subject.

  "I thought we would stay in, and I would fix you dinner." She stopped and looked at me.

  Elf courtship lesson number two: dinner. An elf signals romantic interest in one of two ways: either fixing a home-cooked meal or accepting a home-cooked meal. This is one of the reasons why there are no dating sites on the elf InterWeb, while cooking is taught in every school in Gweyr. I know, it's corny, but it works. Both of my parents are fantastic cooks. I'm surprised they stopped with only one set of twins.

  I looked at Losira and made a decision. Unlike the umpteen decisions I've had to make over the last few years involving assassinations, jumping out of a ship and into a maelstrom, world revival, and stopping my father from annihilating a race of elves, this one was actually pleasant. "That sounds wonderful. Can I help?"

  She smiled and led me to the kitchen.

  ###

  I woke up to klaxons calling the crew to general quarters. "What now?" I asked as I sat up in bed.

  "What the hell?" Losira asked as she sat up next to me.

  "All hands to battle stations. This is no drill. Royce Aymar, to the Bridge on the double. Royce Aymar to the Bridge on the double."

  Why me? Gods of space pilots, why do you task me like this? I've done my duty for king and realm! "Yet again I must go," I said as I leaned over and kissed my wife to be goodby
e.

  "Me to," she said as we both rolled out of bed and got dressed—me in my flight suit and her in a medical jumpsuit. Damn, she looked good even in fatigues.

  We hit the door running. "Let me know what's going on," she said while palming the door open.

  "Copy that," I said, giving her a final kiss. A moment later, we lost each other in the crowd.

  I made it to the Bridge in record time. It was big, no it was huge. At least thirty people were there manning consoles. I saw my father standing next to the captain, so I headed over. "I'm here, what's up?"

  He nodded toward the window. Outside were at least a hundred warships. "They appeared a few minutes ago. Nothing on the scanners, then poof, the sky was full."

  "They look elven," I said as I glanced at the science station and read the energy output spectrum of our friends.

  "They're from the other five realms, the dead ones," the captain noted.

  Shit, the final failsafe. "Wait a minute. Have the crews been in hypersleep all this time? If so, they should be too groggy to pose a threat," I observed.

  "No life signs. It seems our ancestors opted for robotic systems."

  This is bad. Very, very bad. Except for the healers, elves never did well when it came to robots. They had a tendency to get squirrelly with time.

  "What do they want?" I asked. Stupid me, never ask questions like that at times like these.

  "You have been identified as the Gweyr Flagship Aegnor under command of King Montagor. Is this correct?" a voice asked over the comm unit

  "How the hell does it know who I am," the King demanded.

  I whispered in his ear, "It's painted on the hull along with a picture of you leading a charge. Remember last year's birthday celebration?"

  "Oh, yes of course. Open a channel," he ordered.

  "Channel open, my liege."

  "This is Montagor, who am I speaking with?"

  "The Guardian of Ralanor. Who dared to release the sleepers?"

  What the hell? "Guardian, Royce Aymar, Prince of Gweyr. I released the sleepers. May I assume you have a problem with that?"

  A small ship appeared off the bow. "We're being scanned. Shields are not stopping it," the captain said.