The Star Captains' Daughter

by Kimber An

  “I never liked Imperial Guards anyway.” Delano tossed aside the data-pad. “This is nothing in comparison to your encounter with Lord Kaliban.”

  Junior curled a nostril. “He is quite possibly the weirdest guy I’ve ever met. Cute, but, geez, definitely not worth the trouble.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say it.” Delano picked up a fork. “As long as we’re on Menelae, you’ll stay indoors unless you’re with me.”

  “What? The jerkwad goes free and I’m getting locked up? How archaic! Mom would launch right through the hull.”

  Stabbing some salad, Delano released a groan. “I know and I’m sorry, but… Listen, it’s only for two more days. You’ll have full access to the Holographic Chamber in the meantime. I’ll be in charge of security on Denahi. You’ll have complete freedom as soon as we arrive.”

  “When do I get to see the Imperial Archives?”

  “Hmmm?” Delano took a bite of salad.

  “I want to see the Archives before we leave.”

  Delano chewed and swallowed. “Not going to happen.”

  “Why not?” Junior’s face tensed.

  “The Archives are only for individuals with a Level Six Clearance or better.”

  “Do you have that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, take me with you.” Junior could see the tension in his face too.

  “I can go, but I cannot take you with me.”

  “But, Dad, I need to find evidence, so we can clear your name and go home to Mom.” Junior’s stomach knotted.

  “I’ve searched the Archives and every other Intelligence gathering organization in the Empire. There’s nothing useful to be found, nothing admissible to a United Fleet court martial trial.”

  “Dad…” Junior whined.

  “I’ve created a new life for our family on Denahi. Once we’re settled, we’ll bring your mother across the DMZ. Everything will be all right.”

  “But, Mom would never…” Junior started to shake her head.

  “I don’t want you consumed by the past. Be young. Have fun. Naana will arrange for the dressmaker to come here for a personal fitting. You will soon be a princess and you must dress the part.”

  “Is there anything in the Archives you’d rather I not see?” Junior asked in an accusatory tone.

  “Yes,” said Delano without hesitation. “The Archives contain a complete record of the War, including all of its atrocities. You‘re too young for it.”

  “I’m not going to have nightmares, for crying out loud! Are you hiding something bad you did from me?”

  “No, but there are things about the War you’re not mature enough to cope with yet.”

  “And since you’ll always think of me as your little girl…” Junior sighed most dramatically.

  “Enough.” Delano’s voice hinged between impatience and anger.

  At bedtime, Junior fell asleep plotting. In less than three days, they would depart for the Denahi System and if Dad didn’t budge by then she’d lose her opportunity to search the Imperial Archives. Staring up at the bare white ceiling above her, she decided to give him one more day to be flexible and understanding. She rolled over and closed her eyes. Minutes later she slept and about a half hour later, she entered REM sleep.

  ***

  Dreamtime.

  The sensation was familiar, but the environment was not. Junior found herself in the grand ball room of a glittering palace. Mirrors reflected the light of a thousand candles raised high on golden circles and in wall sconces. The music drew her attention around to the couples waltzing in rich fabrics, swishing and twirling. Her first impulse was to leave before her mother found out. The last time she’d visited a place so opulent she accidentally knocked over a statue which had crashed into a mirror, shattering it and setting off security alarms which brought rain down from fire sprinklers.

  The very proper British governor of the New Gawain Colony absolutely forbade her mother from bringing her again.

  “Princess Rowan.”

  Junior turned to see Kaliban standing their in a green jacket emblazoned with a golden dragon. “I’m not a princess, just the captain’s brat. What is this place?”

  “According to the cultural database, this is the Palace of Versailles on Earth. I hoped a human dreamscape might please you.”

  “Oh, well…” she shrugged “…I’ve only ever been to Earth twice in my life and never to France.”

  “Your beauty outshines the stars.” Kaliban brought her fingertips to his lips.

  “Beauty?” Junior looked down to see a full skirt heavy with gold embroidery. That’s when she noticed the smooth bodice cinching in her waist and boosting up her… “Cleavage!” She stumbled back a couple of steps, gaping at her own chest.

  Kaliban caught her by the elbow or she might’ve gone down.

  Pressing hand to tummy, she stared at the tops of her own small breasts. “Whoa, cleavage! I never knew I had it in me.”

  “You are such an innocent.” Kaliban ran the back of his fingers down her bare arms. “I have never had the pleasure of a virgin before.”

  “Big shock there.” Junior let the sarcasm fly.

  “It amazes me how the gods could invest so much power in one so simple.”

  “Who?” Junior looked behind her, but saw only the dancers who paid no attention.

  Kaliban’s hand slipped around her waist and he pulled her into his embrace, firmly against his body.

  “Excuse me, but did we already go on a first date and I’ve forgotten about it?”

  “’Date?’ That’s a human courtship rite. It is irrelevant here.”

  “Except maybe to get to know each other before we start pressing our bodies together.” Junior pushed at his chest, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

  “Once our bond is complete, I will know all there is to know about you.” Kaliban swirled his fingers around her check. “I doubt I will find anything significant in any case.”

  Pulling back her chin, Junior avoided his first kiss by catching his mouth in her hand. “Such sentiment gives me such warm fuzzies all over.”

  “Shall we dance?”

  She glanced at the swirling skirts. “I don’t know how to dance like that.”

  “This is Dreamtime. We can do anything we want here.”

  “Dreamtime?” Junior jerked in his arms and looked around. “Then, where is Ariez?”

  “You will not speak that name here!” Rage shook through him. “I absolutely forbid you to speak his name!”

  “Oooh, I’m shakin’.” Junior set her face like stone. “Schmutz-butt.”

  Kaliban swirled his hand around her cheek again and took her chin in hand. “Draw together with me and I will fill you with such pleasure.” His mouth came over hers. I will cleanse your heart of all memory and fill you with my truth.

  Anger burned up from Junior’s stomach, causing her no harm. It burst forth from her spirit and flashed over Kaliban in yellow and orange fire.

  Shrieking, he stumbled back, face over hands and snuffed the fire, but he could not heal himself. He lifted glaring eyes at her. “You will love me.” He stretched forth a hand, swirling fingers towards her face.

  This time the intoxicating effects overwhelmed her and covered her anger in a cool mist. His body pressed against hers and she comprehended only his affection.

  “Usurper!” Ariez rammed into Kaliban, rammed him hard into the marble floor.

  The sheer force of their collision threw Junior back against a familiar tree trunk. She glanced up at their tree house, swathed in darkness.

  Kaliban spun to his side, back to his feet, and drew a gray sword out of nothingness. He swung his blade and smashed it down on Ariez’s sword.

  Junior’s butt hit the cold, wet moss, fallen by shock.

  The glittering palace evaporated all around them as Ariez defended all he had created for her, all she’d accepted in the freedom of her own heart.

  Digging her fingers and toes into the bark, she climbed up i
nto the lower platform of their tree house.

  Ariez and Kaliban battled at blinding speed, matching every attack with equal force.

  “She has rejected you!” Ariez screamed.

  “There are no witnesses!”

  A full moon illuminated the combatants moving into the trees. Their blades flashed, growing into their hands and becoming claws.

  Ariez emerged dark purple and gold in a glimpse of moonlight. A ra- a dragon!

  Kaliban morphed into some sort of cat, heavily muscled and black. The two vanished into the forest. Their screams of rage, clashes, and the cracking of trees filled the night.

  A great roar drew her attention to the far East and grew into a terrible wind rushing through. Torrents of rain chased it, swallowing the forest in tsunami. The water and wind rushed all around her tree, but never touched it. The wind wafted over her a gentle breeze, the rain a light mist.

  “This has got to be the weirdest dream I’ve ever had in my whole entire life.” Junior gripped the edge of the platform, focused on the battle.

  Whether minutes or seconds passed, she could not tell. The dark clouds lifted and vanished. The waters receded and the splintered trees grew back, the lush, green ferns returned, and everything became as it was before. Even the night withdrew until a new day’s sunshine reached for her in warmth.

  Ariez stumbled into the clearing, his natural self again, and collapsed among the mosses and fallen leaves.

  Junior grabbed a rope and swung down. She ran and fell to the ground with him.

  “Ariez?” She pulled him into her lap and pushed hair from his bloodied temple. His black clothing diminished into his usual beige shirt and brown pants. She noticed her own attire had become her simple beige dress too. Everything was as it had been before in their Dreamtime together. “You saved me.”

  “No.” Ariez drew a deep, cleansing breath. “You saved me.” He cupped her hand to his face and the blood retreated. The wounds vanished, clearing his skin. “I couldn’t intervene until you rejected him.”

  “You wanted to kill Kaliban, but you didn’t.”

  “He’s my brother.” Ariez ran his fingers down her temple. “The son of my father, but not my mother. He believes our father abandoned him when I was born to care only for me.”

  “You’re exhausted.” Junior took his hand and rested it warmly within her own. “Sleep deeply. I’ll keep watch.” She smoothed fingertips over his face and kissed his nose. “Sleep.”

  Ariez relaxed in complete trust, deep unconsciousness restoring his spirit.

  She wanted a blanket and one appeared. She tucked it around them and held his head in her arm, face to her neck. “I love you.”

  Chapter 13

  Junior cradled a white teacup in her hands, sitting to her breakfast table with the window drawn back. The dawn warmed her, but she knew only her own chaotic emotions.

  “Milady, are you all right?” Naana brought a fresh glass of chilled water.

  “Hmm? Oh…fine.” Junior shook her head. She reviewed her memories again, but the emotions inside her still did not match up with them. Nothing made sense. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “And Dad’s all right.” Junior sighed. “Well, except for his delusion about convincing Mom to come back to him while he’s a Menelaen warlord.”

  Lali walked in with a new white dress draped over her arms. “Comman…uh, Naana, I have been informed Lord Kaliban was admitted to the medical facility with burns and extensive neural trauma during the night. He almost died.”

  Naana’s lips tensed into a thin, white line. “I wasn’t aware of this.” Her tense gaze shifted to Junior. “Milady, did you happen to dream of Lord Kaliban last night?”

  “Kaliban?” Junior studied her demeanor. Who the hell is Kaliban? “Why dream about him?”

  “If you’re romantically interested in him, you might.”

  “Romantically…no.” Junior shook her hand. “I’m not romantically interested in anyone right now.”

  Alarm passed through Naana. “What about your human…what is the word? Boyfriend?”

  “Uh…well, besides him.” Junior nodded, lifting glass to lips. “I thought you meant only Menelaens.” I have a human boyfriend?

  Naana did not appear convinced.

  “Perhaps, Kaliban attempted to initiate the Courtship Rites, but was defeated in a Challenge of Worth by another rival who has yet to present his suit.” Lali’s pale blue eyes widened at the nanny.

  “Perhaps.”

  “Or, he could have suffered the defeat while attempting to copulate with another female.”

  “No,” said Naana. “Lord Kaliban copulates with many females, but he would never initiate the Courtship Rites with a female who was not politically advantageous to him.”

  “Why?” Junior knew her father had deleted sex education from her curriculum, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pry info from the Nanny Brigade.

  “Kaliban needs to sire offspring by a powerful female in order to be accepted as Princess Ara’s heir.”

  “So?”

  Naana hesitated, as though she assumed Junior understood. “Only bonded couples can produce children.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the…” Naana paused, clearly uncertain if she was stating the obvious. “The husband awakens the wife’s fertility cycle through the Marital Bond. Likewise, the wife sustains the pregnancy. Pregnancy cannot be achieved or sustained without telepathic bonding.”

  “Oh.” Junior turned back to her water glass. “That’s why those human officers lost their babies after the Menelaens raped them.”

  Lali refilled the water glass. “Those human mothers could not provide their unborn children with telepathic reassurance, but some believe…”

  A stern look from Naana stopped her.

  Movement on the landing ramp caught Junior’s attention and she stood for a better view. “Dad’s leaving for the day already?” Not waiting for a reply, she ran out and hiked up her long, white skirts coming down the stairs. “Dad! Where are you going?” She caught him by the elbow out on the landing ramp.

  “Central command.”

  “May I come?”

  “No.”

  “Mom… ”

  Delano groaned. “That ploy hasn’t worked yet. Why do you keep trying?”

  “Give me a minute. I’ll think of something new.” Junior shrugged.

  “You would get bored and cause trouble.” Delano pulled out of her grasp and strode for his red sport coup.

  Junior followed. “Then, drop me off at the Imperial Archives on the way! Get me through security and I’ll be fine.”

  “No.” Delano took her hand from his elbow. “I’ve told you…”

  “But, Dad…”

  “We’ve already discussed this. There’s no chance of a fair trial with Jackson commanding the Defensive Fleet.”

  “Then, we can find evidence to bring charges against him! There‘s got to be something!”

  “Rowan, I know you want our family back together. I do too. And it will be. But, you must understand if I cross the DMZ, I will be imprisoned. Our family will not be together. The only way we can be together is on Denahi.”

  “Dad…”

  “Do you understand?”

  “I understand what you’re saying.” I understand you believe it’s true, but I know it’s not.

  “You’re being fitted for your new dress today. We have our audience with the Empress tomorrow.”

  “I hate dresses.”

  “You can leave the purchase to Naana, then, and spend your credit allowance on something you really want. Our family will be together again by Christmas.” Delano glanced back before disappearing. “I promise. Run along now.”

  Junior watched him board his red sportcoup. “’Our family will be together again by Christmas,’” she repeated her father’s words in a whisper. She was his little princess and he believed her mother would soon be his willing queen.

&nb
sp; Dad wasn’t going to let her into the Imperial Archives.

  “And they say teenagers are out of touch with reality.” Junior didn’t watch him speed away, but walked back into the upper foyer, towards the sweeping staircase.

  Despair like a dark cloud filled her heart, but even as it did a rush of illogical good feelings chased it away. The staircase before her feet seemed to float around. Drawing a breath, she grabbed the rail and settled down on the bottom stop. The darkness and the mist of euphoria evaporated together. She dropped her hand.

  “Lady Rowan, are you all right?”

  Junior looked up at the young woman approaching. “Palin?” She tried to remember how she’d gotten into the foyer. “Where’s Talya?”

  “I am here.” Talya entered from a far doorway while Palin helped her stand.

  “Oh, I’ve never seen you two apart. Well, Dad wants me to buy a dress today for meeting the Empress tomorrow.”

  “We have the perfect dressmaker!” Palin lit up, clasping hands together. “She’s waiting to take your measurements.”

  “And I will do your hair, Milady,” said Talya, just as excited. “Palin, we must choose a gown which will compliment the tiara Captain Delano ordered.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “And do not allow your Hopper to chew it up.”

  “My Hopper does not…”

  Junior glanced at them on either side, leading her up the stairs, chattering excitedly. She was glad they didn’t see her little dizzy spell. Bad enough having everyone know she had ADHD and a small chest.

  Night came and Junior skipped her usual four hours of sleep. She waited in bed for a half hour, until she was sure the guards had been lulled into a false sense of security. Then, she reached for a device on her belt and sat up. She flipped open the micro-computer, checked it, and then tucked it away again.

  Shoving back the covers, she slid her legs out of bed and stood in the starlight. The speeding traffic lights of the city blocked most of the stars, but she could just make out a small, triangular view of them. She stood transfixed a few seconds, thoughts tumbling back over what Naana had said about Kaliban. Whoever he was, all memory of him was gone. Something’s happening to me.