by Zara Zenia
“Have you contacted those two guards on radio?”
“Yes, the call went out as soon as this report reached me. But it has been two hours since they left the palace. There has been no response from them yet. Their tracking devices show a location. What should we do, Prince?”
“You must go find him, Manzar! Please? He is in great danger out there!” Andi pleaded. Her arms were pressed on my stomach as she looked up at me with her large hazel eyes.
I didn’t like seeing her upset. I would do anything for her, and that included finding her father, no matter how rash and stupid he might be. “Get the scouting ships ready. I want a team of ten. We’re going to their tracking location in less than five minutes. Go!” I shouted the order.
“Yes, Prince!”
My soldiers turned to leave my side and follow orders.
I turned to Andromeda, she was trembling.
“He is reckless. Oh, Father, why did you have to do this? He’s not safe out there, Manzar. Something must be done. You must find him. Check all the taverns. He likes the taverns on the waterfront most. He likes to watch the old sailing ships and get drunk with the sailors.”
“I will. I will find him, Andi, and return him to you,” I promised.
“Let me come with you,” she begged.
“No, it’s too dangerous. I can't have you both out there. You are safe here in the palace. Come with me. You can stand wait in the operations room. You’ll be able to hear over the radio everything that is happening while we're scouting. But I can't take you with me. I won't let anything happen to you.” I was desperate to keep her safe.
“All right. Show me,” she said with a nod.
I grabbed her hand and together, we ran down the hall toward the elevator. I set her up in the operations room. “Andromeda is allowed to sit here and hear all interactions. We’re going out on a scouting mission. Here is a headset, Andromeda.” I placed it on her head.
She had to hold it up with her hand because she was much smaller than a Trilyn. “Thank you. I appreciate this. Please keep me informed. I need to know that he is safe.”
“I will find him,” I promised again.
She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
I wanted to stay with her and continue to console her, but there was work to be done. “Let it be known that Andromeda has clearance to come in and out of the operations room as she pleases until I return!”
“Yes, Prince!” the crew in the room shouted.
I turned and gave her one last look of reassurance. Her eyes were watery with worry. I turned and left, making my way toward my scouting and battle ships. This was going to be dangerous.
In the aircraft bay, I jumped in my small speeder ship. It was small and fast, able to fly between buildings, but had a set of long range guns on it that could hit with such precision, like the fraction of a hair. It was a mean ship and I was ready to go find the father of the woman that I cared deeply for.
Chapter 17
Andi
This isn’t happening! How could my father do this? I knew something would happen. Even though my father had apologized and said he would adapt, I knew that he would find a way to make something exciting happen. I knew exactly what he wanted to do as well… go to a bar. Get completely drunk and numb. Perhaps find a few loose women to take to bed. He often went on a bender like this. He would disappear for a week, sometimes two. There was no way for me to keep an eye on him. He was an adult after all and I shouldn’t have to. But things were different now. He was supposed to be careful because Humanity First was after him.
I sat in the operations room of the ship, looking at the projections of video footage from the space aircraft that Manzar and his team were flying in the sky toward the beeping signals of the guards who had escorted my father.
I watched and listened in a panic. I hoped that they found him. I hoped that Humanity First hadn’t found him. Then I remembered... Jake.
“Excuse me, I will return shortly. I'm going to my chambers for one moment,” I told the soldier at the control panel.
He nodded.
I quickly ran down the hall toward the elevator down to my room. Once inside my chamber, I grabbed the tablet. I started to check the online forums that Jake had been using to send me messages in the past. I checked in a panic. There must be something, if he had found my father, and got to him first, before we could, Jake would definitely let me know.
“Nothing. There is nothing posted.” I was relieved.
If Jake had him, he would definitely let me know. I put the tablet away and then walked out of my chambers, running back down the hall to the elevator. A few moments later, I was sitting in my chair with my headphones on. I was just in time too. Manzar and his crew were landing their aircraft near the signals. They landed on the roof of a high tower building.
“This is it, Prince. The signal is coming from street level down below. It looks like in that alley,” a soldier with Manzar said over the radio waves.
“Radio to those two soldiers. See if they respond now. Soldier 625 stay with the aircraft. The rest of you with me,” I heard Manzar say.
Listening to him command his team made me very proud of him. He was sharp and focused… a natural-born leader. My heart went out to him. If he weren't searching for my father, I would find this very attractive. But all I could think about in this moment was my father and his safety.
I was very angry with my father. Didn’t he know how dangerous it was for him out there? I knew that he did. But didn’t he know how much he disrespected our host by doing this? The prince had given us asylum, but we had to abide by the rules under his roof. My father was disrespecting that by showing him that he didn’t care at all. Then he would expect to return and continue to receive sanctuary even though he was so insolent. This was just like him too, very selfish. I loved him of course, but it was hard to have him as a father.
I sat there waiting as Manzar and his team descended the stairs of the building they’d landed on. I couldn’t see video, as the stream came from the front of the aircraft they used. They individually didn’t have any sort of cameras on them. So I could only hear the audio. Their loud footsteps echoed in the stairway as they made their way down
“We are closer. It seems that they are just behind this building,” a soldier said.
“Keep your weapons charged. This could be an ambush,” Manzar warned.
My eyes grew wide. I didn't think about this. Manzar had been ambushed before. The Humanity First set traps for them all the time. This could be one. The alien that I cared so deeply about could be walking into his own death right now at this moment. My heart dropped to my stomach. I didn't know if I could forgive my father if he led this alien who I cared so much for, to his death. It would be my father's fault because Manzar was out there looking for him. If he hadn’t left the ship in the first place, Manzar wouldn’t be out there.
But this signal that they were following, was on the wristbands of the guards who went with my father. However, those guards were not answering the radio calls or signals. Something was definitely wrong. I started to shake, it had all of the requirements of an ambush.
“Please be careful, Manzar. You have to come back to me...” I whispered to myself in a quiet prayer.
“There they are! That doesn’t look good!” a soldier shouted.
“What? What do they see?” I asked the crew soldier sitting near me.
He just put his hand up, while he was doing his work. He was too busy to answer me, or possibly didn’t have the answer. How could he?
Then over the radio I heard, “The two guards are dead.”
My heart beat louder. “What about my father? Is he there? Do they see him?” I shouted and stood up.
“James is not here. Andromeda... patch her through,” I heard Manzar say.
The soldier walked over to me and pressed a few buttons. Then he pointed to a microphone.
“Manzar. It's me. My father isn’t there?”
“N
o. We’re searching the area. But my two guards are down. Your father isn’t here with them. I just wanted you to hear that directly from me. Stay in operations. We’re fanning out to search the alley and the building.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Fan out. Search this entire area. Leave no item unturned. You, stay here with these guards. I want a full report on how they met their death. You three, search the building. You three are with me, searching outside. Fan out in half a mile radius around this building!”
“Yes, sir!” they shouted.
I listened as the team did what he said. It was an aggravating hour. They were combing through the entire block. It was possible that my father was dead, but his body might not be placed with the guards. If he were shot, he would run away and die somewhere else. The thought brought tears to my eyes. Please be all right, Father. I cannot handle this.
All I could do now was sit and wait.
Chapter 18
Manzar
I was mad as hell. This was not good, not for anyone. The Trilyns already had hostilities with the Humanity First terrorist movement. Now one of their targets was roaming the streets freely. Not only that, but he had gotten two of my guards killed. No Trilyn life was worth this. That man, Andromeda's father James, was dangerous. Even though he wasn't dangerous physically, his decisions and actions were dangerous to those around him, and that included his daughter, who I now cared for deeply. She was my future wife. We had to find him and find him quickly before he caused any more harm.
But the fact that the two guards were dead, meant that he had come across some sort of trouble. I didn’t know if this was the work of Humanity First, or hoodlums in the alley, or with some other Trilyn hating organization. It was too early to tell. I only knew that I needed to find this man for the sake of my human female.
“I want you to spread out. Hit the local taverns and the waterfront taverns. You have an image of Dr. James LaBelle on your vankor. Use it. Show anyone and everyone you come across that you are looking for this man and want to know if he has been seen. Even if it has been hours since he was at that location. Every single detail could lead to another detail,” I said over my wristband to the scouts I had sent out while I stood next to my two dead guards. “Command, patch me into the governor for an emergency conference,” I radioed back to my ship.
“Yes, Prince.”
I waited, walking back and forth looking at the two guards on the ground. Looking at them now, it was obvious that they had been shot by human weapons. But how did humans get the best of some highly trained Trilyns? It was a very rare occurrence. Even if there were ten humans, two highly trained Trilyn guards could get the best of them. No, something strange had happened here.
“The governor is on the communication line, Prince.”
I pressed the projection on my wristband that would connect me to the governor through video.
“Prince Manzar, what is the urgency?” Governor Edwards asked as he appeared on the small hologram projection.
“I’m in an ally of the fourth quarter of the city. Where I have just found two of my guards who were escorting Dr. James LaBelle on an outing. They are dead.” I then turned to show the governor my two dead guards on the ground.
“My apologies, Prince. Did you see who caused this?”
“No, I didn’t. That is my question to you, Governor. Do you know who caused this?”
“No. This is the first I’m hearing of this incident. Do you think Humanity First is behind it?”
“I wouldn’t put it past them. Dr. James LaBelle had come to me seeking asylum. The Humanity First Movement had targeted him, placing a bomb in his home. He and his daughter have been taking sanctuary on my ship. Dr. LaBelle went for an outing, and this is what happened. He is now missing.”
“I know of Dr. James LaBelle very well. Yes, he is a target of the Humanity First Movement. What can I do?” Governor Edwards replied.
“Have your team look through camera surveillance footage. Anything within this area after the hour of noon today, as that is when Dr. LaBelle left the safety of our ship. He wasn’t with these guards, something has happened. In the meantime, my crew is looking for him as well. I suggest that you do the same.” I was seething, but did my best to stay calm as I spoke to this human politician.
“Yes, I will make sure that it’s done.” Governor Edwards nodded.
“Good. I must go, return to my search for him. We will be in contact.” I ended the communication line. I turned to the soldiers I had posted to be with the two bodies. “After you have recorded everything that you can in detail, load these two onto our ships. They deserve a proper burial. I’m going to go scout the waterfront myself.”
They gave me a salute of understanding, and then I began to scout the area searching for James.
I searched ten miles in every direction from that building and then to the waterfront. But I couldn’t find James. Everyone I asked, hadn’t seen him, or wouldn’t speak with a Trilyn, not even a prince. We searched late into the night. I didn’t want to give up, but I knew that we needed more information, in order to find out where he went. Every single Tavern in the area had been searched and he wasn’t there.
“Lieutenant Danja,” I radioed my lieutenant who was in charge on my palace ship any time I was off of it. He was my second in command.
“Yes, Prince?”
“I want you to put five teams together to scout the city. I want them covering every single mile. Have them alternate. Five teams through the night and five teams to replace them at first light. I’m returning to the ship.”
“Yes, Prince, right away.”
I loaded my team back in the aircraft, and we made our flight back to the ship. I was dreading having to tell Andi that I didn’t find her father. Of course, she already knew because she was listening in to operations. But telling her in person wouldn’t be easy. She relied on me, and I had failed her. It made me feel as if I would lose her respect. I didn’t want to have that happen or see disappointment in her eyes.
Minutes later, we arrived at the ship, flying into the aircraft cargo where I landed my small scout battle airship. Scouts were getting ready, loading into aircraft to go out on the mission I had stated to Lieutenant Danja. This was good, things were in motion. We would find him, or he would come back to us, one way or another.
I made my way straight to operations.
“Manzar...” Andi ran to me and threw her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’ve returned safely. I've been so worried. I’m very sorry about the guards. This is our fault. My father's. As well as my own, if we had never come here—”
“No, don’t say such a thing. This isn’t your fault. We’ll find him. It’s just going to take time. You’re tired. Come, let's go to our chambers, the scouts are out looking for him. We’ll be notified if anything turns up,” I said putting my arm around her small shoulders and leading her out of the room.
She was in great distress and I wanted to calm her if I could. Perhaps get her some Tion wine to numb her pain and get her some sleep.
“I’m just so worried about him. Especially, if he has been drinking, he will put himself in danger. But something had to have happened for those guards to be dead. What do you think happened? Did you find anything in the area?” Her questions came out quickly, repeating themselves as we walked down the hallway toward her room.
“You’re right. Something had to have happened for me to lose two guards like that. But there was nothing at the crime scene that would tell me what that was. It could be Humanity First, or it could have been something else entirely. We don't have any answers now, but my team is looking at it. The governor will also have the guard on it as well. We will find him, Andromeda.”
“I’ve never felt this scared before. Yes, he’s left home before and would be gone for weeks sometime on a binge, but not while Humanity First was hunting him. I have reason to worry,” she explained as we walked into her room.
She was shaking. This strong wo
man wasn’t one to be broken easily. Yet, her father being in danger was making her tremble with fear.
I pulled her into my arms, rubbing her back up and down soothing her. “It’s all right, Andromeda. It’s all right to be scared. You have every right to be fearful. In this moment, allow yourself to feel that way if that is what you need. I’m here for you. You may rest on me.”
She nestled her head into my chest.
I continued to rub her back, trying to calm her down. Making her feel safe, and showing her that I was there for her. This was important and I could feel it. It was what she needed.
“Thank you, Manzar. Thank you for putting teams out there. Thank you for everything. I know that you don't have to do that and yet, you are. It means so much to me.” She looked up at me with her beautiful hazel eyes.
I was lost in her gaze. “For you, I would do anything. He is the father of a new Trilyn Princess, he is one of us. You are one of us. I would do anything to keep you both safe.”
Her large hazel eyes watered over at my words and her lips trembled. “Manzar, kiss me. It is what I need right now.”
I lowered myself to her and kissed her. A rush of heat moved through me that was unlike anything that had ever flooded my body before ‒ a mix of adrenaline ‒ and something else. I couldn’t describe the sensations, but I knew one thing was for certain—it was new to me.
Chapter 19
Andi
I needed him to console me, this alien prince. Why did I need that? I didn’t want to admit to myself that it was because I wanted him to make me feel better. The reason I was in his arms was to hope that he would somehow make my worries go away.
He did.
In fact, he did more than that. His kisses and his touch were just the distraction I needed from my problems. Manzar was able to make this go away, with his thick lusty voice, his strong hands touching me, and a blazing kiss. This was working. I was lost in the moment and everything melted away. We were the only two beings in the world.