Royce Read online

  "What the hell is that?" Losira asked as she aimed both of her weapons at the spider beach ball. It just stood there, ignoring our weapons.

  "I don't..." I stopped when I got a good look at the object hanging from it. "Wait here," I said as I lowered my weapons and slowly walked up to the "spider." I stopped when I was about a foot away from it and looked closely at the silver object. "Damn," I said with a chuckle as I made a show of powering down my weapons before putting them on the ground. "Princess, you can stand down," I said. "It's safe." The bot turned and strode out the door.

  "What the hell is going on, Royce?" she asked as she powered-off her pistols and shoved them in her belt.

  “Did I ever tell you about my sister?”

  “Gloria? You mentioned that the two of you haven’t seen each other since you joined the Space Marines.”

  “She called me about a year ago. Since then, we’ve been talking over commlinks and exchanging letters. A few weeks ago, I sent her a silver robot pendant for her birthday. That spider was wearing it.” I told her as I found it difficult to keep awake. Dammit, just let me stay alive long enough to make sure Losira is safe.

  The footsteps stopped just outside the door. "Permission to enter," a familiar female voice asked.

  "Permission granted," I replied as I fought to stay conscious. The medical pack could raise the dead, but there was a high price to pay for the gift. If I hit the floor now, I would be out for at least a week, maybe a lot longer.

  A female elf walked in and surveyed the room. She was tall, with long blond hair, pointed ears, and eyes that saw everything. "Princess, you're safe now," the elf said as she bowed. "My name is Gloria Aymar and I work for the Cube." She then turned to me and said, "Hello, Royce. It's been a while."

  I smiled. "Hello Gloria. Yes, it has been a while. Was that one of your creations?"

  "Yep. You look like shit," she said as she walked up and took my hand. I felt the shock of the twin-link kicking in, so I had to hurry. "Princess, this is my twin sister, Gloria. She'll make sure you’re safe," I said as the universe closed around me. I felt someone take my wrist and check for a pulse as my knees buckled.

  "By all that's holy," the Princess said all business. "I need medics in here now!"

  I heard more yelling, yet through it all I could feel the link keeping me on this plane of existence. Gloria will never let me live this down. Once more, the floor slapped me hard in the face as the universe winked out.

  ###

  I woke up in a hospital bed with Losira standing next to me as she checked my pulse. That woman has a thing for checking my pulse. "Do I still have one?" I asked as I tried to sit up. The room swam, though not as badly as before. "How long have I been out?"

  "Yes, you still have a pulse," she replied as the brought the head of the bed up. "You've been out for forty-eight hours, give or take. You passed out when Gloria took your hand."

  "It was that damn twin-link," I said. "I thought I would be out longer."

  "Normally you'd be out at least two weeks, but you're not normal," she said while checking-off something in my chart. That's right, she's an MD. I wonder what else I've forgotten. "How do you feel?" This time she felt my forehead with the back of her hand. She had very soft hands.

  "Like I've been dragged down several clicks of bad road. How's Gloria?"

  "Worried about you. She's outside waiting for you to wake up. What the hell happened between the two of you?"

  “I enlisted in the Space Marines. We didn't part on the best of terms. Then there was the... Never mind, it's silly." I said.

  "What? Tell me," she said as she took my hand and held it in a very un-doctor-like manner.

  "Remember a little over a year ago when my squad was sent to diffuse a hostage situation?"

  "Yeah. I was not happy about that, especially the part about you getting shot."

  "While Parker was putting me back to rights, I think I may have died for a moment. I dreamt I had a conversation with Gloria. She had been knocked unconscious by an angry Tralaskan insurrectionist. It was very odd. "

  "Sounds like. Elf twins and their links are the stuff of legend."

  "It was right after that she called me out of the blue. We were supposed to meet for lunch during this trip.” I swung my feet out of the bed and started disconnecting wires.

  "Where do you think you're going?" Losira asked as she hastened over to help me.

  "Anywhere but here," I said. Then I had a thought. "Where am I, by the way?"

  "Queen Lenora’s flagship," she replied.

  "What? Your mother is here? I need to..." I stopped. I was now a civilian. I didn't need to do anything.

  Losira sat down on the bed, took my hand and our tails intertwined, the first step in courtship. "Royce, I have a confession," she said as she looked at me with those damn beautiful eyes of hers. "I'll understand if you don't want this, but I've had a thing for you for a while now and..."

  I kissed her. Some would say I was crazy, or I should wait, but it felt right, dammit. I've done my duty for king and world. It's time to carve a new life for Royce Aymar.

  "Well, that answers that question," she said as she leaned her head against my shoulder. "Do you think there'll be repercussions?"

  "At this point, My Princess, I really don't give a hoot in the seven hells what anyone else thinks."

  "Copy that," she said. “Feel like some real food? I cook a mean beast steak.”

  “Only if you let me help,” he replied.

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  About Frank Carey

  Frank Carey has been formally writing and publishing works of science fiction since late 2013. Over the years prior, he had dabbled in various forms of writing including haiku poetry, but that all changed when he and his wife, Jo, decided to try their hand at writing and self-publishing. All his work, to date, has been in the science fiction genre.

  Most of his stories take place about two centuries in the future when Earth joins the League of Planetary Systems. Many of his protagonists are strong females. He is an inveterate pantser who believes the story will go where the story wants to go.

  Frank’s background includes degrees in physics and extensive work as a scientific programmer and technologist.

  Frank and his wife produce a podcast—Xtreme Self-Publishing—which details their self-publishing efforts.

  Frank can be reached through his podcast at xtremeselfpublishing.podbean.com or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected]