by Peter Rhodan
He watched her with a small smile, but then shook his head.
“I know nothing of your friend I am sorry. We checked all the Kimerian news feeds as we were coming into the station here and there was no mention of anything at all happening at Starfire. I have one of my men monitoring the news services even now."
“Really?” she said jerking around, a puzzled expression on her face.
The disappearance of the second in line to the Kimerian throne should have been all over the news! She blinked. Oh! Of course, probably no one had discovered she had escaped the Palace at first, although they should be well aware of her escape by now.
“Nothing at all?” the doubt was obvious in her voice.
He looked keenly at her for a moment and she wondered what he was thinking. After a moment he replied to her surprised-sounding response.
“No, nothing. Not even my little shoot-out with the bully boys sent to retrieve you, or the four bodies I left lying around have made the news. Although it’s possible that the follow-up group retrieved the bodies before the authorities showed up I suppose.”
He paused for a moment as he appeared to consider this.
“Yes. If they had taken the bodies with them when they fled that would explain the lack of any mention of an incident at the event. Of course, that still doesn’t explain why there was a large team of hired muscle all chasing after one young girl, someone who I rather think is much younger than I first thought.”
He opened the palm of his hand inviting her to comment. She shook her head and didn’t offer anything in response. He said nothing for a few moments but when she glanced at him, she found he was watching her calmly, but his eyes were twinkling with a smile again. He really was unsettling to be around!
Suddenly he laughed.
“I know who you are!” he announced shocking her into staring at him.
He smiled and grabbed the pad at the end of the table. He turned it on and scrolled through it a bit before showing the screen to the woman across the table from her.
“See. The bone structure’s the same. The hair’s different but you see?”
The woman looked at the tab and appeared surprised for a moment then glanced at Gizel before nodding at him.
“Yes, I think you’re right Karvon,” she said slowly.
It sounded like she was not entirely sure of his identification but didn't argue.
Gizel slumped.
“Okay. But that is why I was surprised there is no mention of anything in the news. They must have missed me in the Palace by now.” she complained.
Karvon glanced sharply at the woman as if to say something, but just shook his head and then smiled at Gizel.
“Well, I would think they would too. Maybe they didn’t find your clothes though. The bad guys may have taken them with them or some passerby may have picked them up. They were rather nice clothes after all.” he said with a smirk that made her blush again.
Oh God, he was the one who stripped me! She thought to herself, blushing even more. She looked away as she felt her face heat up, but nodded in agreement with his point.
“But even so when my maid came to check on me in the morning they would have known I had snuck out. I knew I couldn’t escape for more than one night anyway. It’s just that there must have been time for my disappearance to hit the news by now. Why are they keeping quiet?”
Karvon glanced along the table and Gizel realized another man had quietly seated himself there.
“Anything on the latest newscasts, Krevis?”
“No Karvon. Nothing. Looks like we got away completely clear. No mention of any naval activity either which makes me nervous because an entire task force just jumped into this system.” the other man stated.
Karvon scratched his head.
“How big a task force?”
“Two battlecruisers, four cruisers, and maybe six destroyers or frigates. They’ve split into six groups. One headed for each jump point at flank speed and one of the battlecruisers and a couple of destroyers are headed to Lennister Station.”
Karvon grimaced at this news.
“Are they indeed, and what is Lennister Station saying?”
“Absolutely nothing. No alerts, no weapons being readied. Nothing. Commercial traffic is all moving as normal.” Krevis replied.
He sounded very puzzled, Gizel decided. Karvon sat back in his chair, obviously finding this something worth considering.
“Hmm. They must have been pretty insistent with the Station authorities to be allowed to pass that many warships through the system. I wonder what excuse they are using?”
Gizel looked at him then at the other man.
“Were they Kimerian ships?”
The man named Krevis looked at her with a flat expression.
“Well yes. The whole Kimerian fleet was getting underway when we jumped out of the Kimeria system.”
“Oh,” she said softly taking this information in.
It clearly meant that her disappearance had been noticed, but the Palace was keeping it quiet. She needed to think about this. She found Karvon’s eyes on her with a speculative look in them and the hint of a knowing grin.
“The Palace is keeping my disappearance quiet, obviously. But they certainly seem to think I’ve been taken off planet if they have mobilized the entire fleet. I wonder what excuse they are giving the news services to persuade them to keep quiet?”
The woman, who was named Corinne, went to say something but stopped at a glance from Karvon. The man at the other end of the table had more information to impart
“That’s why they wanted us to stop. According to the guys in the comms section on the station, they’re tracking down every ship that left the Kimeria system.”
The man named Krevis observed the effect this revelation had on his listeners before continuing, sounding somewhat peeved, Gizel thought.
“Belgarth! With battlecruisers? Who the fuck chases cargo ships with battlecruisers?” Krevis almost yelled.
Karvon smiled openly at Gizel. She was convinced now these people weren’t kidnappers. Well not the inimical variety, anyway. What they were she wasn’t entirely sure. The Captain, Karvon of the laughing eyes, was worrying, but not in the kidnapping sense.
“You want to tell him?” Karvon said.
He opened his hand for Gizel to speak.
“They are looking for me,” she said simply.
“You!” the man expostulated. “Who the hell are you then?”
“I am Princess Gizel.” she answered simply.
“What!” he yelled.
“No!” said the woman, Corinne. Huh? Gizel was surprised at the woman’s surprise as she thought Karvon had shown her a picture of her, which no doubt proclaimed she was Princess Gizel. The only one who showed no surprise was Karvon. She looked at his calm smiling face with eyes that were now definitely laughing at her. She felt herself blushing again and looked at the woman.
“But he showed you who I was,” she complained.
Corinne laughed.
“No. It was a trick to make you think we knew in the hope you would betray yourself, as you’ve just done.”
The woman's smile died as she sobered quickly.
“Shit Karvon! They would have found her clothes and the bodies for sure. No wonder the whole fucking fleet scrambled.”
Karvon simply kept smiling. Gizel watched him watching her and this time she didn’t blush. There was something in the way he looked at her that she had never seen in a male face, something that made her feel safe. Finally, he spoke.
“And you truly have no idea of who was trying to kidnap or kill you?”
“No. No idea at all.”
Karvon’s eyes narrowed in thought.
“Yet that someone could arrange for a tracking device to be placed on your person, did anyone else know you were going to Starfire incognito?”
“Only Lena and Teron, the friends who I went with. They didn’t even believe that I could sneak out of the Palace anyway.
Lena had said she’d take me if I could get out of the Palace, but she was genuinely surprised that I’d actually been able to do it. The look on her face when I showed up at the meeting place was priceless!”
Karvon didn’t smile though.
“And they are?” he asked.
“Lena is Baron Travgar’s daughter and my best friend, we go to school together. Baron Travgar is the head of Imperial Security. Teron is Lena’s boyfriend and a corporal in Imperial Security.”
“Ah! Hence his willingness to protect you and be shot by the bad guys, that makes sense. So why did you go to Starfire with only one bodyguard?”
Gizel smiled. “Because my parents refused to let me attend at all, for the third year running. So, I snuck out of the Palace and went with my friends,” she paused.
Suddenly she felt the full weight and the sheer magnitude of what she’d done fall across her shoulders.
“I’ve made a complete mess of everything and now poor Teron’s probably dead because of me. I was hoping that he would be able to enjoy some private time with Lena, away from the ever-present eyes at home!” she said, sadly picturing him lying dead.
She could feel tears coming on again and tried to keep them at bay.
Chapter 6
Difficult choices
“I’m surprised your own people weren’t tracking you.” the man named Krevis commented.
“I am supposed to wear a patch at all times so they can. Only I took it off.”
Krevis looked at her as if to say something cutting, but closed his mouth and just shook his head in resignation. Gizel began to get a feeling that these people didn’t mean her any harm. Quite the opposite, they seemed genuinely concerned for her welfare.
“What do we do with her now, Karvon? Hand her over to the Kimerian Embassy here?” Corinne asked after the others had all digested this naive admission.
Karvon put his hand on his jaw and stroked it as he considered the predicament they found themselves in.
“There are two problems I can see. The first is we don’t even know who the bad guys are or what they wanted her for. The only thing we do know is that they had the capability to place a bug on the Princess of the Kimerian Empire from within her own Palace, and someone was desperate to get their hands on her dead or alive. Was there a special piece of jewelry or something that you always wore Princess?”
She shook her head. “No. I always selected the jewelry and accessories that I wore depending on my outfit. I, well, I have so much stuff there was no need to wear the same things day after day.” she answered.
She realized this statement made it sound like she was embarrassed for having so many material possessions.
“Probably in her underwear then,” Krevis commented.
“Yes. Almost certainly, most likely in a bra strap. That seems to be the most common site for tracking devices these days. So, our unknown bad guys have enough clout to bug all the Princess’ bras and were able to do so in such a way that even Imperial Security was none the wiser. Somebody is probably going to be looking for a new career over that lapse.” he paused and grinned at some inner thought.
Gizel waited patiently realizing that she probably couldn’t just walk into the Embassy here without any way of knowing who the enemy was. Karvon looked at her briefly then turned to his crew.
“We can’t just hand her over here without precautions and without proper identification. It would be easy enough for someone highly placed to, ah, cause her to disappear while casting doubt on her supposed identity. Let alone the endless questions we’d have to answer!”
He stopped as the tall blonde man returned and pulled up a seat.
“So, who have ve snagged here Karvon?” he rumbled with what Gizel recognized as an Iskander accent.
Karvon waved his hand in a parody of a regal wave.
“Lothar, may I present to you her Imperial Highness Gizel, Princess of Kimeria.”
Lothar looked at her, then back at Karvon, and then at the others, his brows coming together with the look of someone suspicious his shipmates were pulling his leg.
“How do you do?” Gizel said calmly, holding out her hand.
Lothar shook her hand warily.
“You really Princess?” he asked, to which she nodded. “Sheet, mine boss. You outdid yourself zis time!” he laughed, turning his head in Karvon’s direction.
Krevis started tapping on his hand comp and Karvon raised an eyebrow at him once he’d finished.
“Just set up a news watch to tag and hold any mention of the Princess. Hey, what do reckon the reward for returning the Princess will be? A mil, ten?” Krevis asked, not entirely seriously, or so Gizel thought.
Lothar shook his head but Karvon laughed a reply.
“More likely we’ll all get ten to twenty in a Kimerian jail for kidnapping the Princess from her homeworld and taking her out of Kimerian space.” he waved his hand at Gizel. “The real question is do we try and return her here or wait for a better opportunity.”
Lothar looked puzzled at this. “I missed someving did I?” he asked.
Krevis nodded. “Somebody was tracking the Princess here with a bug, probably in her underwear, almost certainly in all her underwear, so that presents the problem that if they can reach into the Palace to bug her clothes can they reach into the Embassy here.”
Lothar nodded understanding. “Yes, I see. But. Oh no, forget zat. I shut up.” he said firmly.
“What’s happening with the cargo?” Karvon asked after a moment.
“All cleared with customs and ze recipients agents. Zey assured me zey’ll have a crew here at fourteen hundred to unload.” Lothar said.
“Good,” said Karvon. “I have received an offer from the Medio system government, but I haven’t looked through it yet. I might do that now while we wait for the Gelling Corp stevedores.” he stood up. “I need to consider your problem a little more Princess,” he said.
He gave them all a quick nod and left the room.
Corinne got up as well. “I need to do a check of the medical supplies. Excuse me,” she said to Gizel as she also left the area.
Krevis became engrossed in his comp, taking the occasional bite from the sandwich he had acquired at some point leaving her with the Iskander. This man said nothing, assaying his coffee in silence, although she detected that he was casting appraising glances her way at times. Despite eight decades of peace, there were still tensions between Kimeria and Iskander.
“I’ve never met an ordinary person from Iskander,” she said at last.
He looked at her steadily for a moment then laughed.
“But I am not ordinary person,” he responded.
“Oh?” she queried. “If you are not an ordinary person why are you on this clapped-out freighter?”
“Ah, but I cannot tell you little one. Secret.” he whispered, but his mouth held a grin.
She watched him for a moment, but he went back to his coffee and clearly had no intention of speaking further on the matter. She had been instructed in deciphering people as part of what she called her ‘princess training’ and now she considered the man in front of her. He had moved with a certain fluidity of motion that indicated he might have martial arts or dance training and he sure did not look like a dancer. There was a certain amount of rigidity in his bearing that looked military, and if he was military his tattoos meant that he probably had not been an officer.
“What branch of the military did you serve in, the army?” she casually asked.
He pursed his lips and made the fake spitting action the Iskander’s were known for. “Army? Ha! I was a Marine. Master Sergeant. I taught hand-to-hand combat at ze academy for five years!” he said proudly and with some gusto indicating it was very important to him.
Gizel nodded as if she understood. She tried to remember her instruction on the Iskander’s military structure. Their Marines served on their combat ships in much the same way as the Kimerian Marines did. The difference being the Kimerian Marines were more
like a space interdiction force, and were predominantly used for boarding other ships and stations. This was because Kimeria also had dedicated Army Assault Brigades that were the preferred troops for planetary assaults, whereas the Iskander Marine force carried out that role as well.
Gizel couldn’t really remember anything more than that. She presumed from what the Iskander had just told her they also had a military academy. Okay, she would have to improvise.
“I did karate for three years. Is there somewhere I can practice on this ship?”
He studied her for a few moments.
“What sort of karate?” he asked finally.
“Goshin Ryu,” she answered.
He cocked his head and studied her intently.
“Really? Zat is very rough style. I zink I would like to see Kimerian Princess who can do rough karate. If we have time after ship is unloaded I will take you to our gym. Yes?”
Gizel smiled. “This ship has a gym?”
To which Lothar nodded assent and returned to his coffee. Not the most talkative of fellows she decided. Krevis, having finished his sandwich, got up and started towards what Gizel reasoned must be the bridge, given that is where they had all come from when the ship had docked.
“Time I relieved Andreas,” he said to Lothar as he walked by.
“How big is the gym?” Gizel asked.
“Not very big but it does job. All main equipment needed plus room for sparring. The Captain is very good, multiple disciplines. So is zis man.” Lothar said as yet another crewmember entered the room from the bridge.
The newcomer was of medium height, brown hair, and looked very tough, with a hard, weather-beaten face.
“Hi, Andreas. Make your bow to Princess Gizel.”
Andreas had glanced over the newcomer without recognition when he first entered the room as he headed for the kitchen, but this comment caused him to stop dead in his tracks and he turned his full attention upon her. He peered at her for a moment obviously puzzled by her appearance but slowly recognition dawned on him as he mentally removed the light blonde hair and replaced it with the darker hair the Princess normally wore. He immediately bent to one knee.