by Francis, Ron
“I’m going to alert the president to our plan to use Vee Fleet and the reasons why. He’ll be a bit apprehensive, but he’ll understand.” Ariel noted as she pulled out her communicator and waited to speak to the president.
Three hours later, Sea Side Enterprise's leadership were all aboard the Vanguard and Vee Fleet was in light space headed to Polisia.
Chapter Five:
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An audience with King Dominus turned out to be quite an event. Usually, only citizens of Hyperia were granted a formal audience with the King. So when outsiders were invited, it was news worthy. The fact that the crew of Endeavor was now famous for finding the Treasure of Ameteo made it an even more interesting story to the press. King Dominus had allowed Colonel Jesse Marcos, treasure hunter and hero of Kaldor to present him with a gift from the famous Treasure of Ameteo. All of Hyperia was abuzz with rumors and guesses as to what Jesse might be giving to the King.
Jesse, Josiah, Collin, Kimi and Suzy were all wearing their Coalition Navy dress blues bearing all of their various medals and commendations. Reece was wearing the dress whites of Sollonia’s Space Navy. Bessa was wearing a flowing black gown and was adorned with silver jewelry. Her hair was put up in a beautiful bun which exposed the curve of her neck. She looked stunning. Anyone looking at her would never have known she had been a slave only a week earlier. Collin was all smiles looking at her and Jesse noticed that she wore a strategically placed silver bracelet which covered the mark on her arm that she received with her freedom. Jesse couldn’t blame her for not wanting people to know she used to be a slave. Why be defined by your past?
Jesse led the procession from Endeavor to the King's Royal Hall of Meeting. Kimi and Suzy followed two steps behind, marching in perfect unison. Reece and Bessa followed two steps behind, also marching formally. Jesse was surprised Bessa had picked it up so quickly. Collin and Josiah brought up the rear, carrying the large box containing King Dominus’ gift while still managing to march perfectly. There were reporters and vid-cams all along the route from the ship until they reached the palace. Reporters were shouting questions at Jesse and his crew.
“What’s in the box?”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“Who is the Qualoosh woman?”
“Where are the giant wolves?”
“Are you here to ask for the Princess' hand in marriage?”
“Can you look this way?”
Jesse smiled politely as he walked, but neither he nor any of his crew deviated from the course. The vid-cams caught the whole procession as Endeavor's crew approached the large, golden doors of the palace. When they reached the palace, they came to a halt while they waited for the doors to open.
Standing in front of this impressive building made Jesse feel small. It was even more beautiful up close than it was when they saw it from the air. The craftsmanship and detail on the ornate golden doors was remarkable. The figures carved into the gold were so lifelike that he wouldn’t have been surprised if they came to life and jumped right off the door. Up close, he noticed that the door and window frames were not the white stone of the palace, trimmed with gold as he had originally thought. They were actually one solid pearl or pearl-like substance that a doorway had been cut out of. The stone around the pearl flowed seamlessly into the pearl. It was magnificent. Jesse was loving every second he spent observing this palace.
The doors opened into a large atrium. The atrium walls were lined with crystal vases sitting atop golden pedestals and filled with exotic flowers. There were eight vases along each wall. There was one large painting hanging from each wall and an enormous chandelier made of a stone that resembled Jade. Given it’s prominence in the room, Jesse assumed the stone was quite valuable. There was no furniture in the atrium, and he thought that this room would make an incredible hall for a celebration. On the other side of the atrium stood a second set of golden doors, far different but no less beautiful than the first. Through those doors lay the Royal Hall of Meeting. Jesse couldn't wait; he was now only moments away from meeting King Dominus. He wished he could forego the ceremony and just spend the next day having a look around the palace.
The meeting hall was nearly identical to the atrium with a few exceptions. The chandelier was made of a purplish stone that Jesse couldn’t identify, and there was a purple carpet with golden trim about four meters wide that stretched from the door of the meeting hall all the way to the King’s throne. The room itself was almost fifty meters wide, which gave the carpet an almost narrow look. The room was also almost seventy-five meters long and the throne was positioned five meters from the back wall. He had been told the throne was not the official throne of King Dominus. That throne was in the Throne Room with the Queen’s throne and the Princess’ throne. This was supposed to be a more basic, less flashy version of the King’s throne. It was still plenty impressive. Jesse was looking at a golden throne with a purple cushioned seat and back. The material of the cushion was beautifully embroidered. The gold of the chair was set with incredibly intricate designs that he had never seen before but had no doubt taken some time and talent to create. As he approached he thought, If this is the no frills version of the throne, the actual throne must be spectacular.
As his procession made its way toward the King, Jesse noticed the King had eight royal bodyguards fanned out behind the throne. There were only four other people in the room: the King’s advisor Torav, Soall, the page they had previously met, and two vid-cam operators. Jesse stopped three meters from the throne and knelt on one knee and bowed. The rest of the crew followed suit.
“Rise, my friends,” King Dominus benevolently called.
Endeavor’s crew did as instructed.
“Once again I must make a most sincere apology for your treatment and inconvenience at the hands of Commander Gallo. He has been dealt with appropriately.”
Jesse winced slightly at what that could mean, even in what was considered a good monarchy, but he replied with a smile. “Thank you, King Dominus; it was no inconvenience at all. In fact, it gave our crew the opportunity to reflect on the events of a difficult few days.”
“Even so, you have my apologies,” the King repeated. “How do you like my palace?” The King asked excitedly.
“This palace is the single most impressive structure in two galaxies,” Jesse began in awe. “The craftsmanship is unparalleled.”
“Well, King Sansabar did hire the best craftsmen in the galaxy to complete this palace, and they definitely lived up to their talents,” King Dominus conceded.
“My planet has an old proverb: ‘If you see a man skilled in his work, he will stand before kings. He will not stand before obscure men.’”
“That saying rings quite true in this case,” King Dominus agreed. “I must say, I found your answers to Commander Gallo’s questions to be rather amusing. Tell me, did you in fact answer everything truthfully?” The King asked with a smile, changing the subject.
Jesse was momentarily tempted to begin the runaround he had given Gallo but almost immediately realized that wouldn’t be necessary as this conversation had a much different tone. Torav had informed Jesse earlier that King Dominus had been very interested in hearing of Endeavor’s exploits, and Jesse felt that the King’s question was more in line with that sort of thinking.
“Everything was technically true, Your Majesty,” Jesse began with a smile. "There was one detail I bent the truth slightly on, though. I did realize that I was fleeing Conglomerate forces, but they were allied with Garrinoras’ pirates. On our home world, law enforcement is compelled to identify themselves to give the target of their interest the opportunity to surrender peacefully. It doesn’t always work out well, but more often than not, it saves lives, time and trouble. The Conglomerate forces did not identify themselves as such when they attacked, so natural instinct took over and I defended myself. I only wanted to leave the area as quickly as possible and with as little damage as possible. I only had to confront four of the men. I escaped the re
st through trickery and luck.”
“But why even allow yourself to be spotted, Colonel Marcos?” The King asked, thoroughly enjoying the conversation. “From everything I’ve been told about you, surely you possess the training to avoid the situation altogether.”
“You make an excellent point, Your Highness. I purposely allowed myself to be spotted as a diversion so members of my crew could leave the area undetected. I was the distraction because I have had the most exhaustive training in escape and evade tactics.” Jesse went on to explain how Josiah and Kimi needed to get the spare FTL drive to the ship and the whole harrowing chase in great detail. King Dominus was very much enjoying the story. That's when Jesse realized that this man really wished he could be out there doing those sorts of things. I guess even kings sometimes wish they had someone else’s life, he thought. When Jesse was done with the tale, the King stood and clapped his hands together once. This was meant to indicate that the actual reason for the audience had begun.
As King Dominus sat back down, he asked in a royal tone, “So what is the purpose of this requested audience, Colonel Marcos?”
As Jesse began to reply, he noticed that gone was the fan boy from a moment ago, and in his place stood the King, worthy of respect in every sense of the word. “As the King is already aware, my crew and I found the fabled Treasure of Ameteo. It was a treasure so vast and so important that it could not possibly be kept by one crew. My crew and I have been giving away all of the important historical pieces to their planets of origin. We have already been able to give incredible works to over three dozen cultures. We came across a painting that we were informed holds untold importance to the people and the monarchy of Hyperia. In fact, we were informed that this painting was so valuable, that we had to come in person to present it to you.”
“Thank you, my friend; may we see this painting now?” The King asked, barely able to contain his excitement as to what might be in the box Josiah and Collin carried.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Jesse motioned to his men to open the box and unveil the painting. “It is with great humility that we offer you this gift. May it be worthy of the King we know you to be.”
Collin took the protective sheet off the painting, and the King gasped. The vid-cam operators decided one would focus on the King and the other would focus on the gift. The producer would decide how to show the footage, probably a split screen or a rotation between the two images.
“You found it,” King Dominus began in an awestruck whisper. “Colonel Marcos, no one on Hyperia has laid eyes on this painting in almost four thousand years, yet every Hyperian knows it by sight. In my greatest hopes I could never have imagined you would bring Hyperia something so valuable. This is the most prized piece of artwork in the history of our planet. We are forever in your debt for bringing this back to us.” King Dominus turned to the vid-cam, and in a voice filled with excitement proclaimed, “Sansabar’s Hyperia has returned.”
A cheer went up somewhere outside of the palace as people crowded around displays in restaurants and pubs watched the vid-feed of the King’s audience. Jesse had known this painting was important to Hyperia, but he had no idea it would hold this much significance to the King or his subjects. The King was already planning a planet wide celebration with Torav and a feast for the offworlders that brought them so valuable a gift.
King Dominus turned back to Jesse and Endeavor’s crew and added, “You will be guests of the King for the next week. At that time there will be a royal feast in your honor the likes of which has not been seen since Sansabar himself was king. During your stay, please take advantage of every form of hospitality we can offer you. We will start with a lunch reception in the palace dining hall with my family and some of our advisors. Nothing we can offer you could be of as much value as what you have given us, but we will surely try.”
As the King finished speaking, the vid-cams went off and Dominus motioned for Jesse to approach and walk with him to the King’s exit from the hall. When they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be overheard, the King looked at him and said, “I would like to meet with you tomorrow morning, Colonel Marcos. I would very much like to tour your ship, and Torav has told me of the large canines you have aboard. I believe he called them snow wolves. I would like to meet them as well.”
“Of course, Your Majesty, it would be a great honor to give you a tour of Endeavor. She is my greatest achievement.”
King Dominus thanked him again and then called his royal guard to his side as he left the Royal Hall of Meeting, and just like that, the audience was over. The King had conveyed his deepest gratitude, and Jesse knew this would be an incredible week. Using the deep space telemetry equipment at this point seemed like an afterthought. He planned to ask after he gave the royal family their other gift at the feast. Torav was left to show the crew of Endeavor to the royal suites at Hyperia's most luxurious hotel. They would have the option of occupying for the week until the feast. Jesse smiled as they left. This is far better than I had ever hoped it would be, he thought.
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Jesse was summoned to meet with the King early the next morning. As he was leaving, he noticed Suzy and Shadow getting ready to take a tour of the city with a member of the palace guard.
“Hey, Jesse, have fun meeting with the King.” she waved.
Jesse looked back and smiled. "And I hope you have a great time getting a look at this incredible city. Take lot's of vids for me and I'll see you at lunch."
"Will do, Jess," she replied as they both left the hotel heading in different directions.
Collin was planning on spending the morning tinkering with the new Conglomerate FTL drive Kimi and Josiah had purchased. Kimi had already planned some time with Bessa to get to know her new shipmate and begin her training. Reece and Josiah had been invited to view the combat training at the Royal Academy and give pointers if they felt the need. Everyone had a full morning planned, and they took all of the Hyperian hospitality with a smile. They were really looking forward to some of the things offered to them by the royal family. Endeavor’s crew was at ease because they would be accomplishing their goal of exploring, and they would be having fun exploring in style.
______
Suzy and Shadow were enjoying their tour very much. Everywhere they went, people smiled and waved at one of the now famous offworlders and her giant pet. Most of the people they encountered were very friendly and had many questions about Shadow. She loved every one of the amazing sites her guide Plonse had shown her. She was capturing many stills with her vid-cam, and each site was made that much better with Plonse taking images of Suzy and Shadow together. Plonse commented a couple times on how sweet it was that she loved her pet so much. Suzy decided that she liked Plonse. He was a good man. The King could not have picked a better guide to show his guests Hyperia’s capital: Royal City. He was energetic and informative. They stopped to eat at a late breakfast at a fabulous restaurant that Plonse had picked out for them. She didn't eat much because she didn't want to offend the royal family by not eating much at lunch.
After breakfast, Plonse took Suzy and Shadow to see Hyperia’s famous waterfalls at the edge of the city. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the falls. They were absolutely beautiful. Hyperia’s capital was built high above sea level on a large plateau. The waterfalls at the edge of the city dropped several hundred meters off of the plateau. From the observation point it was breathtaking. It gave the illusion that the waterfalls were flowing off the edge of the planet. She was so glad she had gone out sightseeing. I think I'm beginning to fall in love with this place. As the thought crossed her mind, she couldn't wait to get back to Endeavor and show everyone what a great day she was having. She also couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun. As the morning was coming to a close and they began to make their way back to the palace, she looked at her guide and said, "You have been an amazing guide, Plonse. King Dominus will be getting a very good report of this day from me."
"Thank you, Docto
r, we'll just drop off Shadow and head in to the palace."
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Josiah and Reece were really enjoying the combat training. The instructor had asked them to come to the training circle and show the men some new moves. Reece declined, deciding against putting his recently healed body to a full contact test. Josiah accepted and the instructor asked for volunteers. The instructor informed Josiah that his men would not be going easy on him.
He smiled and replied. “Good, I need a good workout. I won’t be going easy on them, either.”
He knew these were some of the elite forces being trained on Hyperia, so he expected a pretty good workout. He also knew if any of them managed to get the better of him, he could always have Suzy put him in the recovery pod. After donning the proper protective training gear, the volunteer entered the circle at a run. He was trying to catch Josiah off guard. Josiah sidestepped his strike and delivered a side kick to the back of the volunteer. He was holding back on the amount of force he used, but not at all on the moves he planned to use. The volunteer turned and nodded. Josiah returned his nod and the volunteer came at him again, this time a little more slowly. The volunteer unleashed a flurry of blows, each one blocked easily by Josiah. He wanted to see what this recruit had before he went on the attack. The volunteer kicked out at his midsection and was blocked with a leg strike by Josiah. His opponent tried to jab and roundhouse kick and back swing, but Josiah parried each attempt. Finally, when all the recruits watching thought their champion had him on the defensive, Josiah dropped into a spinning leg sweep. He put the volunteer on his back and delivered a shot to the chest while he was down. Again, he held back on the force the blow was delivered with.
The volunteer scrambled to his feet in time for his head to meet Josiah’s foot as Josiah had delivered a roundhouse kick while the man was trying to stand. The blow knocked the volunteer to the ground again and Josiah backed off to let him get his footing. This was, after all, a friendly competition. The volunteer came back at him with a feint left and a jab right, which actually got through and scored a direct hit on his chest. Josiah grabbed the arm of the volunteer and swung around him, twisting the arm and flipping the volunteer to the ground. He then jumped on him and put him in a submission hold. The volunteer conceded the bout and Josiah immediately helped him up and shook his hand. "You are an impressive fighter, son. What is your name?"