by Francis, Ron
Deep Space Endeavor:
Book Two: Royal Intrigue
By: Ron Francis
Special Thanks To:
I would like to thank Mike for a great cover, Laurie for great content ideas, Brian for great editing and Dad for being awesome. I would also like to thank the rest of my family and friends for supporting me on this Endeavor and of course, God for giving me a creative mind and the desire to write stuff down.
Personnel
Colonel Jesse Marcos: Endeavor's Commanding Officer
Lieutenant Josiah Jackson: Endeavor’s First Mate
Doctor Susanne Baker: Endeavor’s Doctor
Lieutenant Collin Torrensede: Endeavor’s Pilot and Engineer
Kimiko Tamanorra: Endeavor’s Weapons Officer
Reece Gavin: Endeavor’s Intelligence specialist
SAMMI: Secure Artificial Man-Made Intelligence
Bessa: Qualoosh female slave
King Dominus: King of Hyperia, Ruler of the Hyperian Monarchy
Queen Constance: Wife of King Dominus
Princess Rayelle: Hyperian Princess
Lady Collette: Princess Rayelle's Best Friend
Specialist Zendar: Special Agent of King
Admiral Meekan Greyside: Admiral Conglomerate Acquisitions Fleet
Colonel Jaketh: Conglomerate Special Forces Team Leader
Garrinoras: Pirate Leader
Tozz Blade: Pirate Captain of the Dominator
Yartan: First Officer of the Dominator
Prologue:
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Four thousand years ago, King Sansabar united his sector under the benevolent and prosperous rule of Hyperia, turning a war torn, crime plagued, poverty ridden sector into a bright light for the rest of the galaxy to follow. By the end of his life, slavery had been abolished in his sector, crime had been reduced to the lowest rate in the four sectors and poverty had been all but wiped out. Hyperia's kingdom initially spanned forty systems: forty systems that were rich in resources and minerals; forty systems that had wealth and comfort far beyond what was necessary, and Sansabar himself was the wealthiest man in the galaxy. He opened up his fortune and offered free admittance to the Hyperian Monarchy for any system that wished to have a better future. Hundreds of systems jumped at the opportunity to better their lives under Hyperian rule. By the time it was all said and done, almost ninety percent of the sector had voluntarily become part of the Hyperian Monarchy. It was difficult at first, but Sansabar made it work. His kind and just treatment of every planet, from the wealthiest to the poorest, quickly made him loved throughout the sector. The sector was even renamed the Hyperian Sector, and Sansabar has since been considered the greatest ruler the galaxy had ever known.
Four thousand years later, Hyperia is still the most powerful of the galaxy's four sectors. It is the leader in scientific and military development as well as a bastion for culture and the arts. The citizens remain prosperous, and the sector has not seen conflict in nearly three thousand years. King Dominus rules Hyperia with a wisdom and kindness similar to Sansabar himself. His daughter Rayelle is one of the most beautiful women in the galaxy, and suitors far and wide have asked for her hand in marriage. King Dominus has been determined to let his daughter make her own decision, and to this point, she had gracefully turned down all suitors. Rayelle, beloved in every corner of the Monarchy's two thousand three hundred forty-seven planets, is unaware that her life is in grave danger.
Chapter One:
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Endeavor was now three days into a four day journey through light space. The next stop on the galactic tour: Hyperia. Jesse knew the Chairman of Kaldor had sent a transmission ahead of them to King Dominus concerning the importance of the gift they were bringing. He only hoped the King had received the transmission and allowed them an audience. He couldn't wait to meet the ruler of the Hyperian Sector and see his fabled palace. It was supposedly the wonder of the galaxy. By all accounts, this should be an incredible exploration experience. Endeavor's crew had been very careful to keep detailed records, take lots of vids and keep many samples so they could have the proof Dr. Hightower failed to bring back four hundred years ago. After all this time, he would be vindicated. It might not help him, but it would be welcome relief for his descendants. One of the goals of this portion of the journey was to use the Hyperian deep space telemetry equipment as a backup plan to map out a route home in case the conduit was not as reliable as Nina believed. If everything went to plan, King Dominus would let them use the equipment to map out a route home.
He thought about all that had transpired during Endeavor’s three months in the Kalephi Galaxy. As he thought, his mind drifted towards Cassie. He was angry. He knew Suzy had been right about her using him. It was over now, and he needed to get past it and move on.
“Suzy, how is Reece doing?” He called down to med-bay to take his mind off of Cassie.
“No change, Jess,” she replied. “The brain activity is improving slightly, though.” She said with more enthusiasm than she felt.
“Just keep the faith; he’s gonna come back to us, Suzy.”
“Thanks, Jesse, I need to keep hearing that.” She turned to Reece, grabbed his hand and whispered. “Wake up soon, Reece. We all miss you.”
“Colonel Marcos to the bridge,” Collin’s voice called over the ship speakers.
“On my way, Collin,” Jesse responded as he left his room and began making his way to the bridge. Thoughts of seeing Reece healthy and back in action filled his mind as he walked. When he arrived, he entered the bridge and asked, “What's up, Collin?”
“The light drive is running a bit hot, Jesse. I would like permission to drop out of light space and recalibrate the FTL engine. It’s fine right now, but I don’t like the idea of running it another day straight without an adjustment.”
“Okay, let’s do it. How long do you think adjustments will take?” He asked. “We’ve already learned the hard way that you don’t want to be stationary in this galaxy very long.”
“Recalibration should take between three and four hours. I know that’s a good chunk of time, but I believe it to be necessary. At least we’ll be cloaked this time.” Collin mused.
“Do you know where we will come out of light space?”
“We will re-enter real space in the Conglomerate Sector, near a small planet called Binwar.”
“Oh, I gotta tell you, I’m not loving that idea, Collin. I really want to steer clear of those thugs. Is there any way we can make it to the edge of Hyperian space?” He asked, hope in his voice.
“No. Sorry, Jesse. I think it would be tempting fate to try. We really should do this now.” Collin understood Jesse’s apprehension. The Conglomerate was barely a legitimate government. They were what he imagined a government led by gangsters and criminals would look like. Slavery and drugs were government-sponsored institutions. There wasn’t much that was illegal in the Conglomerate. It was not the kind of place you wanted to be stuck in.
“Alright,” Jesse replied. “Just be sure to get the cloak up quickly. I don’t want anyone to know we're here. Garrinoras has no doubt made a very lucrative offer to anyone that may spot us. Do you need me to help you out?”
“No, it’s not really a two person job. I may need someone to hold a few things here and there, but I’ll call Suzy in if I need the help.” Collin smiled as he prepared to bring Endeavor out of light space.
As reality came back into focus around Endeavor, Collin had the cloak engaged almost instantly.
“I’ll stay on the bridge.” Jesse called as Collin was heading to engineering. “No need disturbing Kimi or Josiah when I’m already here.”
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Almost two hours later, Collin came back to the bridge. Jesse was staring out the front viewport into the space around Binwar. He turned to look at Collin as he approached. He could tell by the look on his friend's face and the grease all over him that he was not going to like the news.
Collin approached with an apologetic smile and began. “I hate to do this to you, Jesse, but we're going to have to land to finish repairs.”
He tried to hide his annoyance. He knew his friend was doing the best he could. “Why? What’s the problem?”
“I found out why Endeavor’s running hot,” Collin started. “There's a problem with the cooling system. To fix that, we have to land. I’m sorry. On the bright side, if we hadn’t stopped, our FTL drive would have been destroyed in about three and a half hours.”
“Well, there is that," he relented. "As long as we can cloak, we should be fine. It will actually give me a little time to gather some Intel on a Conglomerate world. After all, we are on an exploratory mission.” He opened a channel on the ship speakers and began. “We are having FTL drive problems. We will need to land on Binwar to finish the repairs. I’m going to gather some Intel, anyone up for a trip?”
“I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs, Jess.” Suzy replied. He was hoping it would have been Kimi that answered. He felt like she had been avoiding him for a few days now. He knew it had to do with his failed relationship with Cassie, and he was hoping to talk to her about it.
“Okay, let’s go casual. Garrinoras has probably already sent our images to his people in this sector. Let’s try not to look like us.” He turned to Collin and said. “Take us in, Lieutenant Torrensede.”
“Aye, aye, Sir,” Collin replied in crisp military style.
Jesse was getting ready to leave the bridge to change into his battle suit when Josiah and Kimi came onto the bridge.
“How long are we going to be on the surface?” Josiah asked.
“I’m not sure yet.” Collin responded. “At least twelve hours, maybe more. I’ll need some help with this one.”
“No problem,” Josiah shook his head.
“I will stay on the bridge and monitor the sensors while Jesse and Suzy are on the surface.” Kimiko added.
Collin and Josiah left the bridge for engineering and Jesse took the opportunity to talk to Kimi. “Hey, is everything all right, Kimi? We’ve barely spoken since the Chairman’s party.”
“Everything is fine, Jesse.” She lied. “I just miss home, that is all.” Her words said one thing, but her eyes said another. He knew she was trying to hide the hurt she felt, and he decided not to push it.
“Alright” he began, a little unsure. “You would tell me though, right? I only ask because I want things to be all right between us.”
She looked at Jesse and smiled. “You have done nothing to offend me, Jesse. Now, do not keep Suzy waiting.” She turned away and began checking the sensors, and he took that to mean the conversation was over. She wasn’t ready to let Jesse know how she felt yet, and he left the bridge knowing it would take her some time to forgive him.
He met Suzy in the landing bay and smiled when he saw her. They hopped in one of the speeders and were on their way. Collin had landed almost a hundred klicks from the nearest city, so they were in for about a forty minute ride. They rode out into the mid-day sun and noticed a whole lot of nothing. Jesse hoped the city was better than this. All they could see for kilometers was dust. He had gone with his tan battle suit pants and the blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up just a bit. He wore a white shirt and dark shaded glasses, hoping to hide his identity from anyone Garrinoras might have looking for him.
They were fast approaching Clove City, Binwar’s capital. Clove City was not what Jesse had expected on a Conglomerate world. It actually looked nice.
They looked up at the tall spires of Clove City. Beautiful buildings of several muted colors surrounded the city center. He took the speeder into the city center and parked it on the side of what looked to be a government building. He set the speeder's security, then he and Suzy exited the vehicle. They began to walk around the city, trying to gain some insight into the workings of the Conglomerate.
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Captain Blade was Garrinoras’ new second-in-command. It had been an easy choice for Garrinoras to make after the Battle of Kaldor because Blade brought sixteen ships with him, and Garrinoras’ fleet had been decimated. When the pirate leader had learned of Endeavor's impending trip to Hyperia, he had given Captain Blade one order: make sure Endeavor could not use the telemetry equipment. Blade had gone to great lengths, but he had no luck getting anywhere near the Hyperian deep space telemetry equipment. He knew the crew of Endeavor wanted to get a look at it, but was unsure why. It might have had something to do with the fact that Garrinoras believed them to be from another galaxy. His first assignment as Garrinoras’ second-in-command was impossible, and was about to end in failure, which was a word he despised. Still, he could take a chance that Endeavor would drop out of light space early in Conglomerate Space. He had to locate a likely exit point if they didn’t go straight to Hyperia. Then, he could capture Marcos and return to Garrinoras a hero.
“Yartan,” he called.
“Yes, Captain,” he crisply replied. Blade liked his second-in-command, He was a great warrior. He was smart and he was efficient.
“I would like you to find the likely locationsss a ship traveling from Kaldor to Hyperia might exit light space.”
“Yes, Sir,” he replied and immediately began his task.
Efficient, Blade thought with a smile.
“Captain, there are only two locations that make any sense. Binwar and Zenith, but Zenith is a little further out of the way than Binwar.”
“Thank you, Yartan, set a course for Binwar. That will be all for now.”
Dominator arrived in orbit around Binwar a short time later. Captain Blade was hoping to catch a lucky break in his search for Endeavor. According to Yartan, Binwar was the last logical place a ship would stop before heading into Hyperian space. He knew that if Endeavor had to make a stop, it would most likely be here. “Statusss report! Hasss Endeavor been spotted in this system?”
“Not yet, Captain Blade,” Officer Yartan replied. “Our information has them on schedule to make it into Hyperian Space any time between now and tomorrow night. We have no way of knowing how fast they are traveling, or if they have made any stops.”
“Thank you, Yartan.” He replied. “We will wait here for a couple days, just in case.” He knew his position as Garrinoras’ second-in-command was tenuous to start with. If he could pick up Colonel Marcos’ trail, Garrinoras would be most pleased. Until he was cemented in as Garrinoras’ second, he needed to make sure his leader was pleased. “Send a transmission to Binwar Control asking if Endeavor or any ship matching Endeavor’sss description has landed here.”
“Yes, Sir,” Yartan replied. “Binwar Control, this is the Dominator. I have a request for information concerning a ship wanted for several crimes in the Lawless Sector. We are looking for a ship called Endeavor. She may be flying under a different name. I am sending a packet containing their specifications and the identities of their known crew members.”
“Dominator,” a tinny voice replied. “We have not seen this ship or its crew on Binwar or in orbit around the planet. We will be on alert, and we will notify you if anyone matching these descriptions shows up.”
“Thank you, Control, Dominator out.” Yartan responded as he turned to Captain Blade. “Now we wait, Sir.”
Captain Blade left the bridge, pleased he had such a competent crew. Competent pirate crews were a rarity. He couldn’t help but wonder if the Battle of Kaldor would have gone differently were he and his sixteen ships there.
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Clove City wasn’t as beautiful up close as it was from a distance. Jesse and Suzy were making their way through the city, and the stink of corruption was everywhere. Several girls and boys, both human and other species, no older
than fourteen, had already approached them, offering intimate favors. Their masters’ hovered nearby to make sure their slaves were putting enough effort into the sale. Suzy’s heart was breaking for these children. Slaves, forced to sell themselves. The children looked genuinely afraid whenever they politely turned them down. It seemed as though rejecting their offer signified more pain in their future. They had already been held up at blaster point twice. Both times, Jesse disarmed the thugs and rendered them unconscious. Suzy’s attempts to alert the police were met with laughter. One of them even commented that they should be thankful they were still alive and move on. Jesse had also caught three pick pockets trying to steal from them. He was sickened by this city, and Suzy couldn’t blame him.
They rounded another corner to see a man viciously beating a Qualoosh woman. Jesse was about to intervene when he heard the man say in a gruff voice “I didn’t buy you to watch you stand around and do nothing. You’ll work, or I’ll get my money’s worth out of your hide, you pathetic ‘loosh.”
Suzy looked at the indecision etched into her friend’s face and turned his head to face her. “We can’t interfere,” she began, as another punch took the Qualoosh woman off her feet. They could see the fear in her eyes as the blood poured from her lip. “As sick as it is, it’s legal here. If we try anything, we will be announcing to everyone who we are.”
“You’re right, Suzy, but I can’t just walk away.” He began pacing as a plan was forming in his mind. “I can offer to buy her, though.” He could feel the metallic texture of the chrons in his pocket as he decided to give it a try.
“Jess, you can’t save everyone. I love that you want to, but we have to let it be.” She wasn’t sure she was getting through to him. She knew she hadn’t as he walked over to the man and grabbed him by the arm. The angry man was in mid swing and seemed genuinely surprised someone would intrude on his business.